{"id":12751,"date":"2025-09-08T12:21:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T07:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/?p=12751"},"modified":"2025-09-08T12:21:43","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T07:21:43","slug":"cjp-yahya-afridi-addresses-judicial-conference-in-islamabad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/?p=12751","title":{"rendered":"CJP Yahya Afridi addresses judicial conference in Islamabad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi on Monday addressed a judicial conference at the Supreme Court, marking the commencement<\/a> of the new judicial year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justice Afridi observed that the conference, initiated in 1970, provided the court with an opportunity to reflect on its performance. He said that after assuming the CJP\u2019s office in October 2024, he felt the need for reforms, which were categorised based on \u201cfive principles\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe prioritised service delivery through technology, transparency in cases, and legal framework,\u201d the CJP said. Noting that the apex court had eight sections, CJP Afridi said each section prioritised speedy justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highlighting that the six interactive meetings were held to discuss the SC\u2019s reform plan, the top judge said digital case-filing and case-tracking were among the measures raised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are two groups in the lawyers\u2019 community,\u201d the CJP remarked, adding that members from both were included in the consultation process for judicial reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He detailed that a high-powered committee led by Justice Shahid Waheed, which also included Justices Irfan Saadat Khan, Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Aqeel Ahmad Abbasi, reviewed suggestions made by the SC \u201csections\u201d, some judges and lawyers. Those were then placed before an administrative full court meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone speaks of technology and artificial intelligence,\u201d Justice Afridi said, adding that 61,000 files will be digitally screened under a project that will be completed within six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCases will be fixed using artificial intelligence,\u201d he announced. However, he cautioned, the judiciary was \u201cnot yet ready\u201d to utilise AI. The usage of AI would be initiated once the digital scanning project is completed, according to the CJP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justice Afridi also spoke of a facilitation centre inaugurated today, which will begin its operations on October 1 and will provide \u201call details\u201d related to cases. Reiterating the need for speedy disposal of cases, he asserted: \u201cWe have always worked for the supremacy of the law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emphasising that rules cannot be made within a single day, the judge said suggestions will be presented before a proposals committee, which would then make recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his address, the chief justice also said the security provided to him and other judges has been reduced, as well as the protocols in Islamabad\u2019s Red Zone, which houses key government buildings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI used to have nine security vehicles with me so, I said that this much security was not needed inside the Red Zone as it has the court and residences,\u201d the top judge recalled, adding that now he only had two security vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He remarked that judges could need security when going outside of Islamabad, but not as much when in the Red Zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apparently responding to one of the questions raised in Justice Mansoor Ali Shah\u2019s recent letter<\/a> on the CJP having powers to grant or refuse judges\u2019 leaves, Justice Afridi said: \u201cThe matter of judges\u2019 leaves is clearly stated in the Supreme Court Rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo judge needs permission [for leave] during judicial holidays, but other than that, it is required to inform [the court] about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just last month, the SC issued a number of policy decisions taken between Oct 26, 2024 and Aug 12, 2025. One such decision, reflected in a General Standing Order dated July 29, 2025, amended the Supreme Court Judges (Leave, Pension and Privileges) Order 1997, empowering the CJP<\/a> to grant or refuse leave, whether within or outside Pakistan, or to revoke or curtail leave already granted to judges of the court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continuing his speech, Justice Afridi noted that the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) had decided on 64 complaints against judges, 72 had been referred to the council\u2019s members, and 65 were pending, which would be considered in the SJC meeting later this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stating that the court was taking up cases on a \u201cfirst-come, first-served\u201d basis, the top judge clarified that the court would not hear cases out of their order.SC judges (from L to R) Ayesha A. Malik, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Athar Minallah, Mansoor Ali Shah, Musarrat Hilali and Munib Akhtar attend an event at SC, on Sept 8, 2025. \u2014 DawnNewsTV<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justice Shah, Munib Akhtar, Aminuddin Khan, Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha A. Malik, Athar Minallah, Shahid Waheed, Musarrat Hilali, Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui and Malik Shahzad Ahmad were among the fellow SC judges seen attending the event. Judges of the high courts were also present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Mansoor Usman Awan, Pakistan Bar Council Vice Chairman Tahir Nasrullah Warraich, and Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Mian Rauf Atta addressed the event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Separately, CJP Afridi also inaugurated a \u201cMedia Station\u201d at the SC, telling mediapersons on the occasion: \u201cYou people are necessary for the system because you keep everyone in check. [\u2026] Please keep us on check but it should be healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chief justice also inaugurated the \u201cPublic Facilitation Centre\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi on Monday addressed a judicial conference at the Supreme Court, marking the commencement of the new judicial year. Justice Afridi observed that the conference, initiated in 1970, provided the court with an opportunity to reflect on its performance. He said that after assuming the CJP\u2019s office in October 2024, he felt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12752,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","inline_featured_image":false,"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_3859443944190656_798604363342440":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12751","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12751","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12751"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12751\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12753,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12751\/revisions\/12753"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12751"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12751"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakjazbo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12751"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}