Yahya Afridi

Yahya Afridi (Urdu: یحیٰ آفریدی; born 23 January 1965) is a Pakistani jurist who is currently serving as the chief justice of Pakistan since 26 October 2024.

He is a member of the Adamkhel Afridi tribe, with his family originally from Babari Banda village in Dara Adam Khel Tehsil (formerly the Frontier Region Kohat).

[3] In 2010 Afridi was elevated to the Peshawar High Court bench as an additional judge, and later confirmed as a permanent justice of the PHC on 15th March 2012.

[7] In Abid Ali VS The State etc (2018 PLD), Afridi ruled that the Prevention of Corruption Act of 1947, being person-specific, meant that a petitioner could not "absolve himself" of wrong-doing "on the mere ground that the said law has not been extended to FATA, where he was then serving."

[sic] incidents of the 9th and 10th of May 2023 may be proceeded strictly under the relevant criminal laws applicable to civilians; but there is nothing on record to even suggest that they so acted with the intention or object of causing damage to the defence of Pakistan.

"[13] On 26 October 2024, Yahya Afridi took was sworn in as Chief Justice of Pakistan at the Aiwan-i-Sadr, where President Zardari administered the oath.

[15] The CJP also scheduled meetings with the administrative judges of Anti-Terrorism Courts (ATCs) and the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) for November 7–8 and ordered live-streaming in all of the SCP's courtrooms.

[18] These measures have been seen as attempts to unify the apex court after a period of polarisation and internal conflict[19][20][21] and overturn the constitution of "like-minded" benches.

[25] Later on October 31, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan "wholeheartedly" accepted Afridi as CJP and denied that the party would call for his resignation.

"[28] According to the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Shahzad Shaukat, there is “no doubt that Justice Yahya Afridi is one of our best judges”.

Attorney General Tariq Mehmood Khokhar stated, "More often than not, he finds himself unable to agree with the views of either side, neither the majority nor the minority".

[9] An editorial by Ikramul Haq, Huzaima Bukhari and Abdul Raoof Shakoori in Business Recorder called Afridi a "sober, dignified and independent-minded judge" who "possesses in-depth knowledge of maladies faced by our justice system.