Full court reference for outgoing CJP Isa to be held on Oct 25

ISLAMABAD: A full court reference for outgoing Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa has been scheduled for October 25, according to an official letter wrote by top court’s registrar Jazeela Aslam to Supreme Court Bar Association President Shahzad Shaukat.

Senior Puisne judge Justice Mansoor Ali Shah is set to replace CJP Isa as the country’s top judge.

The confirmation follows weeks of political uncertainty, with rumours suggesting that the ruling coalition was planning to extend the chief justice’s tenure through a ‘closely-guarded’ judiciary-centric legislation.

However, the government failed to even table the amendments in parliament after JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman refused to support the government’s judicial package, leaving the contentious amendments hanging in the balance.

Ostensibly, the government was short of 13 votes in the National Assembly and nine in the Senate as the said legislation requires a two-thirds majority in both houses.

A brief profile

Justice Isa became the 29th top judge of the country when he took the oath as CJP in September 2023.

Born on October 26, 1959, in Quetta, Justice Isa is the son of the late Qazi Mohammad Isa of Pishin, who was at the forefront of the Pakistan movement, and the grandson of Qazi Jalaluddin, who was the prime minister of Khanate of Kalat in the pre-partition India.

In his early years, Justice Isa was a part of the Bar of England and Wales in the 1980s and was enrolled as an advocate of the Supreme Court from Balochistan.

He has practiced law for over 27 years before all the high courts, the Federal Shariat Court and the SC.

Later, he also served as a member of the Balochistan High Court Bar Association, Sindh High Court Bar Association, and Life Member of the Supreme Court Bar Association, and chief justice of Balochistan during different periods.

When called upon by the high courts and the top court, the jurist rendered his services as amicus curiae and also conducted international arbitrations.

He is a strong advocate of adherence to the Constitution and the rule of law, which is reflected in his judgements.

The senior jurist is also the founder of a system of transparent induction of officials and officers in high courts via advertisement.

On September 5, 2014, Justice Isa took oath as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.