ISLAMABAD: Under article 175 of the constitution President Dr Arif Alvi appointed Justice Umar Atta Bandial as the Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Incumbent Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed was sworn in as the apex court’s judge on December 21, 2019, and will retire on February 1, 2022.

Read more: CJP Gulzar Ahmed deplores Karachi bureaucracy’s inaction against encroachments

The appointment of Justice Bandial will be effective from February 2, 2022.

Justice Bandial is the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court and will take charge as the 28th Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Earlier, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) had approved the nomination of Justice Ayesha Malik as an SC judge.

If approved, Justice Ayesha would become the first female judge of the apex court.

State news broadcaster PTV tweeted that the JCP met under the chairmanship of Chief Justice Ahmed. The meeting was called to discuss the elevation of Justice Ayesha to the highest court of the country.

The legal fraternity had been divided over the elevation of Justice Ayesha to the highest court of the country ever since the CJP nominated her for the appointment as an SC judge in August last year.

Read more: CJ Gulzar summons JCP meeting to discuss Justice Ayesha Malik’s elevation to SC

Justice Ayesha is fourth in the seniority list of LHC judges. Many in the legal fraternity had opposed her appointment as they believe that she does not meet the seniority criteria.