Zubair Qureshi Islamabad
Outgoing Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed on Tuesday said he owed his achievements and professional success to his father Noor Mohammad Advocate and was bidding farewell to his judicial career with a heavy but contented heart.
He made these remarks while addressing a full court reference organized in his honour at the Supreme Court on the eve of his retirement.
“I am now bidding farewell to my journey with the judiciary that began in 2002,” the outgoing CJP said.
The full court reference was attended by the hon-ourable judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan including Pakistan’s first woman judge of the Supreme Court
Court of Pakistan Justice Ayesha Malik.
Justice Gulzar said he was pleased to have authored verdicts in 4,392 cases during his tenure as the country’s top judge and pointed out that he had to a large extent reduced the backlog of cases he inher-ited after taking charge.
In his remarks at the ceremony, Justice Gulzar Ah-med said at least 38,680 cases were pending when he took charge as the CJP and around 27,426 cases had been decided by the end of his tenure.
“As chief justice, I not only decided cases but also took charge of administrative matters,” he said.
Justice Gulzar had taken oath as the country’s 27th chief justice on December 21, 2019, replacing Jus-tice Asif Saeed Khosa. Justice Umar Ata Bandial will take charge as the chief justice of Pakistan on Wednesday (today).
President Dr Arif Alvi will administer oath to Jus-tice Umar Ata Bandial.
Justice Gulzar said he had performed his duty with honesty even when he was serving as a judge of the Sindh High Court.
Recalling the challenges during his term as the top judge, the outgoing Chief Justice said the coronavi-rus pandemic began soon after he took charge in December 2019.
“I also had to take care of the health of the judges and staff as well as carrying on other work.
Hence I directed Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta registries to start virtual hearing of cases,” he added.
