Justice Qazi Faez Isa has been sworn in as the 29th Chief Justice of Pakistan, assuming office after the retirement of Chief Justice Justice Umar Ata Bandial. The official appointment took place during a swearing-in ceremony at the President House on Sunday. The ceremony was attended by top officials, including the four services chiefs, the prime minister, provincial chief ministers, federal and provincial ministers, chief justices of high courts, judges, and lawyers of the Supreme Court.
Justice Isa, who hails from Balochistan, is the second Chief Justice of Pakistan to come from the province after Iftikhar Chaudhry. Throughout his career, he has gained recognition for presiding over important cases, such as the Memogate Commission, the Quetta Tragedy Inquiry Commission, and the Faizabad Dharna Decision.
Born on October 26, 1959, in Quetta, Justice Isa comes from a family deeply involved in the establishment of Pakistan. His father, Qazi Muhammad Isa, was a prominent member of the movement and a close associate of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Justice Isa completed his primary education in Quetta and pursued his A and O levels at Karachi Grammar School. He then went on to study law in London, where he completed the bar professional examination.
Justice Isa began his legal career as an advocate in the Balochistan High Court in 1985, eventually becoming an advocate of the Supreme Court in 1998. Over the course of 27 years, he practiced law in both the Balochistan High Court and the Supreme Court before being appointed as the Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court in 2009. He served as the chief justice of the high court from 2009 to 2014 before being elevated to the Supreme Court in 2014.
Notably, during the state of emergency in Pakistan on November 3, 2007, Justice Isa made a principled decision not to appear before judges whom he believed had violated their oath. As a result, the then-judges of the Balochistan High Court resigned, and 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.
Recently, Justice Isa has been in the spotlight for protesting against the non-implementation of the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act, established during the Shahbaz Sharif era. As a form of protest, he has refrained from hearing any cases for the past five months and has chosen to work in his chambers instead.
Justice Isa’s term as Chief Justice of Pakistan will span 13 months, ending on October 25, 2024. With his extensive experience and notable cases, he has the opportunity to shape the country’s judicial landscape during his tenure.
