Justice Qazi Faez Isa sworn in as 29th CJP

ISLAMABAD: Justice Qazi Faez Isa took oath as the 29th chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) on Sunday.

Justice Isa was administered the oath of office by President Dr Arif Alvi at a ceremony held at the Aiwan-i-Sadr in Islamabad. Interim Prime Minister Anwaar-Ul-Haq Kakar and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir were also in attendance.

Besides, Judges of the Supreme Court, Judges of the Islamabad High Court, Federal Shariat Court, office bearers of bars, law officers, members of bars and former judges, provincial governors, caretaker chief ministers, caretaker ministers were also present in the ceremony.

Justice Isa was flanked by his wife Sarina Isa as the notification for his appointment was read out. His term in office as the CJP will span 13 months, ending on October 25, 2024.

Justice Faez Isa is the second chief justice of Pakistan to hail from Balochistan after Iftikhar Chaudhry.

JUSTICE QAZI FAEZ ISA: Justice Faez Isa was born on October 26, 1959, in Quetta. His father, Qazi Muhammad Isa, was a prominent member of the Pakistan Movement and a close associate of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Justice Isa’s father was the first person from the province to acquire the Bar-at-Law degree and helped establish the All India Muslim League in Balochistan after his return from London. His father had served as the only member on the Central Working Committee of the All India Muslim League from Balochistan.

Justice Faez Isa’s mother Begum Saida Isa was a social worker and worked in an honorary capacity on the boards of hospitals and other charitable organisations which focused on education, children and women’s health issues.

After completing his primary and secondary education in Quetta, Isa moved to Karachi to finish his ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels from the Karachi Grammar School (KGS). He then went on to study law from London, where he completed his Bar Professional Examination from the Inns of Court School Law, London.

Justice Isa began his legal career as an advocate in the Balochistan High Court in 1985 and became an advocate of the Supreme Court in 1998. He practiced law in the Balochistan High Court and the Supreme Court for over 27 years before being appointed as the Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court in 2009.

He served as chief justice of the high court from 2009 to 2014 and was elevated to the Supreme Court in 2014.

During the state of emergency declared in the country on November 3, 2007, Justice Isa made a principled decision not to appear before judges whom he believed had violated their oath. In protest, the then-judges of the Balochistan High Court resigned, and later, Justice Isa assumed the position of judge and later Chief Justice of the high court on August 5, 2009. He took the oath as a Supreme Court justice on September 5, 2014. – by our reporter / additional input from news agencies