Saqib Nisar to take oath as CJP on 31st

SC disposes of suo motu case on population census after govt’s assurance

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Wednesday announced the appointment of Justice Mian Saqib Nisar as the next Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) starting December 31.

According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice, President Mamnoon Hussain announced the appointment of the new chief justice with effect from December 31, exercising powers conferred on him under Clause 3 of Article 175, read with Article 177 of the Constitution.

Incumbent Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali served in the post for 15 months since his appointment in September 2015.

Born in Lahore in January 1954, Justice Nisar was appointed as the judge of the Lahore High Court in 1998 and was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2010. He will stay at the top post for two years.

However, the haste with which the government made the announcement has taken the legal fraternity by surprise.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court disposed of the suo motu case after the federation assured that the next population census will be held from March 15, 2017.

Tariq Pasha, Additional Secretary (in-charge), the Statistics Division, filed a written statement before a three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali.

The statement says: “The 6th population census will be held with effect from March 15, 2017 and it will be completed in two months.”

However, the chief justice told the secretary that if the government fails to hold the census on the given date, then contempt of court proceedings would be initiated against it.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2016.