At the dinner reception held in honor of outgoing Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJ) Qazi Faez Isa on Thursday night, five Supreme Court judges, including the SC's senior puisne judge Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, were conspicuous by their absence.
The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) hosted the dinner on the eve of CJ Isa's retirement on October 25.
A day earlier, Justice Shah had gone for Umrah with his family. He was set to become the next chief justice of Pakistan upon Justice Isa's retirement.
However, after the passage of the 26th Constitutional Amendment on October 21, which changed the procedure for appointing the top judge, a newly formed parliamentary committee hurriedly selected a much junior SC judge, Yahya Khan Afridi, for the position.
SC judges Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Ayesha Malik, and Justice Shahid Waheed did not attend the reception.
Among the attendees were the nominated Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Khan Afridi, Justice Musarrat Hilali, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Aqeel Abbasi, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan.
The dinner also featured the participation of chief justices from all the high courts across the country, with judges from the Islamabad High Court and Lahore High Court also in attendance.
A luncheon in honor of CJ Isa will also be hosted today (Friday) at the Supreme Court. According to sources, the luncheon is being organized by Justice Afridi along with other judges.
Justice Afridi will personally cover the cost of the luncheon, as CJ Isa had declined the arrangement of any meal at government expense.
Thursday marked the last day of case hearings for CJ Isa, while he is not part of any bench today (Friday), according to SC staff. The Supreme Court has issued the judges' roster for Friday. Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa will be engaged in chamber work today.
On Thursday, a bench comprising Justice Isa, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan heard 10 cases in total, of which 4 were decided while 6 were adjourned. A full court reference in his honor will take place at 10:30 am, and seven benches will continue hearing cases today.
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