SC's new decorum

The first steps Yahya Afridi took after donning the Chief Justice's robes laid bare his intentions: he wants to heal the debilitating divisions in the superior judiciary bequeathed by Qazi Faez Isa. This is a welcome development and bodes well for the functioning of the organs of the state. The new CJP has made some great strides in reaching out to two senior-most judges his predecessor had fallen out with - Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Muneeb Akhtar - by reinstating the latter on the Practices and Procedures Committee and embracing the former's plan for clearing the growing backlog of cases. This confirms that Justice Afridi has exhibited his leadership and, at the same time, been gracefully reciprocated by the two judges who could, otherwise, have opted for calling it a day.

Another first witnessed in the superior judiciary is the realisation that the backlog of pending cases should be dispensed with in the minimum possible time-frame. It is breath-holding to note that more than 59,161 cases are in the annals of decision-making, and most of them comprise civil and criminal litigations. Likewise, there is no dearth of constitutional and judicial review cases, especially taking into account the political crisscross that the country has witnessed in the last two years. Pronouncing a word of law on them is highly desired and much-awaited to put the bandwagon of rule of law back on track.

The honourable full court's unanimous decision to settle the pending cases, and to employ modern technology by enhancing judicial efficiency is a great start. The momentum witnessed on the very first day of Justice Afridi's tenure wherein he, and other judges, heard more than 100 cases is the way to go for reinstating the confidence of the masses in judiciary and rekindling the hope for speedy justice. Justice Afridi has a challenge to face – which is not to be subdued with cross-talk among other organs of the state, and keep his head high while delivering justice.