Supreme Court Judge Justice Qazi Faez was sworn in as the 29th Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) on Sunday, succeeding his predecessor Umar Ata Bandial, who retired the previous day. The oath-taking ceremony took place at the President House in Islamabad, where President Dr. Arif Alvi administered the oath. Distinguished guests, including high-ranking government and military officials, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Army Chief Asim Munir, senators, and foreign ambassadors, graced the event with their presence.
Justice Isa’s tenure as the country’s Chief Justice, unfortunately, will be short-lived, as he is scheduled to retire from the position on October 25, 2024. He began his journey as a judge on the apex court on September 5, 2014, but for the past three years, despite being the senior puisne judge, he was not assigned any constitutional cases due to a presidential reference filed against him in 2019.
Born on October 26, 1959, in Quetta, Justice Isa hails from a distinguished lineage. His father, the late Qazi Mohammad Isa, was a prominent figure in the Pakistan Movement and a close associate of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Justice Isa’s educational journey took him from Quetta to London. He completed his O and A levels at the Karachi Grammar School and then pursued higher education in law, culminating in his successful completion of the bar professional examination at the Inns of Court School of Law.
He embarked on his career in the legal profession by joining the Balochistan High Court on January 30, 1985. In March 1998, he achieved the distinction of becoming an advocate of the Supreme Court. During the turbulent period of emergency declared under the leadership of Pervez Musharraf on November 3, 2007, Justice Isa made a principled decision not to appear before judges who had taken oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO).
