Justice Umar Ata Bandial to take oath as CJP on February 2

ISLAMABAD: Justice Umar Ata Bandial will take oath as the Chief Justice of Pakistan on February 2 following the retirement of incumbent CJP Justice Gulzar Ahmed.

Justice Gulzar Ahmed will retire on February 1 after working in the top judicial position for more than two years.

Supreme Court judges, including the chief justice, retire after attaining the age of 65 years while the high court justices superannuate on becoming 62-year-old under the Constitution. The age is counted from the date of birth recorded at the time of the judicial appointment.

As per details, the law ministry has started working on the summary regarding the appointment of Justice Bandial as CJP. As per law, the summary will be sent to the President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi.

After the approval from the president, the law ministry will issue notification regarding the appointment at the top judicial slot.

Justice Gulzar Ahmed assumed the office of the chief justice on December 21, 2019, replacing Chief Justice Saqib Nisar.

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Justice Bandial will continue as the chief justice till his retirement on September 18, 2023, and will hold the position for some 19 months.

Following Justice Bandial’s superannuation, Justice Qazi Faez Isa will become the chief justice to serve this office for over one year till October 25, 2024.

During his incumbency, Justice Qazi Faez Isa has faced a reference, filed by President Dr Arif Alvi, on account of the offshore properties of his spouse and children, which was finally thrown out by the Supreme Court in a split judgment.