- Justice Yahya Afridi was enrolled as an Advocate of the Peshawar High Court in 1991.
- He was confirmed as Permanent Judge of the Peshawar High Court on 15 March 2012./li>
- He will retire on 22 January 2030.
Early Life
Yahya Afridi was born 23 January 1965 in Dera Ismail Khan. His family hails from the Village Babari Banda in the Frontier Region of Kohat, then part of the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas. He was educated at Aitchison College, Lahore where he completed his O-Level in 1980 and A-Level in 1982. He received the Umar Hayat Gold Medal for Best Sportsman at Aitchison College in 1982 and served as Head Boy.
He completed his B.A. (Economics and Political Science) from Government College, Lahore, in 1985 and graduated with LL.B from Law College, Punjab University, in 1988. He also completed his M.A. (Economics) from Punjab University in 1989.
Yahya Afridi was awarded the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Scholarship in 1989-90. He went to the United Kingdom where he received his Master of Law (LL.M) from Jesus College, University of Cambridge. He was part of the Cambridge University Polo Team in 1990. He also received a scholarship to attend the Commonwealth Young Lawyers Course, London, at the Institute of Legal Studies in 1991. He interned at Fox & Gibbons in London before returning to Pakistan, where he became an Associate at Orr, Dignam & Co. law firm in Karachi.
Legal Career
Yahya Afridi started his judicial career with his private practice in Peshawar. He was enrolled as an Advocate of the Peshawar High Court in 1990. Several years later, he enrolled as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2004. He served as Assistant Advocate General, Government of NWFP, in 1994. He was also Federal Counsel, Government of Pakistan, in 1995 while he remained in private service. He also remained a Partner at Afridi, Shah & Minallah law firm from 1997 to 2012.
Apart from his legal responsibilities, he remained a Visiting Professor at Khyber Law College, University of Peshawar from 1991 to 2005 where he taught International Law, Labour Law, and Administrative Law.
Peshawar High Court
Yahya Afridi was elevated to the Peshawar High Court Bench as Additional Judge on 15 March 2010. He was confirmed as Permanent Judge of the Peshawar High Court on 15 March 2012.
He served as an Inspection Judge for the District Courts/Qazi Courts of District Buner and Malakand in April 2011. He also served as Inspection Judge for the District Haripur and Abbottabad in October 2012, and District Mansehra and Batagram in March 2013. He also served as Inspection Judge of District Nowshera and Swabi in March 2014, and District Peshawar in September 2014.
Yahya Afridi served as Chairman, Labour Appellate Tribunal in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from June 2010 to May 2013. He also remained Company Judge, Circuit Bench, Abbottabad at the Peshawar High Court from December 2011 to May 2013.
He became Company Judge, Peshawar High Court from May 2013 till his elevation to the Supreme Court. He also served as Chairman, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Subordinate Judiciary Service Tribunal in May 2013.
Justice Afridi became the Senior Puisne Judge of the Peshawar High Court on 8 April 2014. He was Administrative Judge of the Anti-Terrorism Courts in February 2014.
Justice Afridi took oath as Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court on 30 December 2016. He became the first judge from the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) to assume charge of the post.
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Justice Yahya Afridi was elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 28 June 2018.
According to the seniority list, Justice Afridi will become the 33rd Chief Justice of Pakistan on 14 December 2028. He will retire on 22 January 2030.
