Justice Shah Becomes Peshawar High Court Chief Justice
Justice Shah Appointed as New Peshawar High Court Chief Justice
According to sources, Chief Justice of Pakistan, Yahya Afridi, approved the appointment of Justice Shah as the new Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court. The decision was made by a majority vote—six out of eleven members of the judicial commission supported it.
Justice Shah is the second most senior judge at the Peshawar High Court. He was chosen over other candidates like Justice Ejaz Anwar and Justice Arshad Ali after careful review.
However, some members disagreed with the decision. Supreme Court Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Munib Akhtar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Law Minister, and two members nominated by PTI opposed the appointment. They argued that legal matters related to the 26th Constitutional Amendment should be addressed first.
Despite their objections, the majority voted in favor of Justice Shah. The President of Pakistan is expected to officially approve the appointment soon, and the oath-taking ceremony is likely to be held by mid-July.
Background on Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim’s Promotion
This change happened because the former Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court, Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, was promoted to the Supreme Court.
Justice Ibrahim served as the PHC Chief Justice for 10 months. During his time, the court performed very well, solving 23,317 cases—more than the 20,438 new cases filed, giving a case clearance rate of 113%.
He became a temporary judge at the PHC in August 2016 and was sworn in as Chief Justice on April 15, 2024. In his career as a High Court judge, he resolved about 19,800 cases.
Justice Ibrahim brought many positive changes. He set up special courts for inheritance cases, introduced online case hearings in the Service Tribunal, and made efforts to speed up court processes. He also canceled summer vacations, created special benches for certain types of cases, and grouped cases to deal with them faster.
He worked to improve judges’ security and built strong connections with lawyers’ groups.
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