President Dr. Arif Alvi on Wednesday appointed Justice Qazi Faez Isa, a senior-most judge of the Supreme Court, as the country’s next Chief Justice.
The appointment will take effect when the current chief justice Justice Umar Ata Bandial retires on September 17.
According to a statement made by the presidency, the current CJP Bandial will attain retirement age on September 16, 2023, by Article 179 of the Constitution.
“The president has appointed the chief justice under Article 175 of the Constitution and will administer the oath to Justice Isa on September 17,” it added.
The statement further said that “The President appointed the Chief Justice under Article 175A-3 of the Constitution. The President will take the oath of office from Justice Qazi Faiz Isa on September 17, 2023.”
Justice Qazi Faez Isa was born in Quetta on October 26, 1959. His father, the late Qazi Mohammad Isa of Pishin, was a key figure in the Pakistan Movement and a close friend of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
The father of Justice Isa was the first lawyer in the region to receive the Bar-at-Law degree, and after coming back from London, he assisted in founding the All India Muslim League in Balochistan.
His father was the sole representative from Balochistan on the All India Muslim League’s Central Working Committee.
Mother of Justice Isa, Begum Saida Isa, was a social worker who served in an honorary role on the boards of hospitals and other nonprofit organizations that promoted women’s, children’s, and youth’s health.
Isa moved to Karachi to continue his ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels at the Karachi Grammar School (KGS) after finishing his basic and secondary school in Quetta. He continued his legal studies in London and passed the Bar Professional Examination there at the Inns of Court School of Law.
Justice Isa enrolled as an advocate on January 30, 1985, before the Balochistan High Court. In March 1998, he did the same for the Supreme Court.
He joined the Balochistan High Court Bar Association, the Sindh High Court Bar Association, and the Pakistan Supreme Court Bar Association as a Life Member.
He occasionally served as amicus curiae, providing support to the High Courts and the Supreme Court in challenging matters. Additionally, he has arbitrated disputes internationally.
Justice Isa took oath as the Supreme Court of Pakistan judge on Sept 5, 2014.
