Nawaz approves Justice Tassaduq Jillani as new Chief Justice

Official notification may be passed later today.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday gave the go-ahead for Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani to be appointed the next Chief Justice of Pakistan, Express News reported.

The current Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is set to retire from his post on December 12.

Tassaduq Hussain Jillani – nicknamed “the gentleman judge” for his mild manner – is expected to maintain the court’s focus on rights but steer clear of intervening in government policy.

Currently, Justice Jillani also occupies the post of Chief Election Commissioner besides being the senior most judge.

“He is the opposite of the current chief justice,” retired Supreme Court judge Nasir Aslam Zahid had said.

“He’s very mild, he hears all sides, he does not lose his temper.”

A dapper lover of poetry, antiques and films, Jillani is related to the new ambassador to the United States Jalil Abbas Jilani and a former prime minister who Chaudhry forced to step down last year.

He has largely avoided the high-profile political cases that Chaudhry has revelled in and he has called for judicial vigilance to be tempered with restraint.

“If the courts fail to maintain this delicate balance, none else but people’s confidence in the judiciary would be the worst victim,” Jillani wrote in a recent ruling.

Express News correspondent Aamir Ilyas Rana reported that the official notification on Justice Jillani's appointment may be passed later today.