Justice Qazi Faez Isa sworn in as the 29th Chief Justice of Pakistan on Sunday — an event seen with much anticipation and expectations as change of command at the Supreme Court often signifies a shift in the direction of judiciary and legal system as a whole. His journey to becoming the CJP is undoubt-edly marked by a distinguished career spanning several years during which he earned respect and rec-ognition of his legal acumen. His commitment to upholding principles of justice, fairness and human rights became evident in cases he took on and the judgments he delivered.
His wearing the robe of CJP has come at a very critical juncture when judiciary is faced with differ-ent challenges. The biggest amongst them is unifying the court and restoring its credibility, so that no-body could point a finger at its judgments. Justice Isa has always been a staunch defender of judicial independence. His principled stand against any attempts to undermine judicial autonomy has earned him respect and admiration amongst his peers. Hence, we are confident that he will do the needful to do away with this impression of divided judiciary.
According to some senior lawyers, the biggest test Justice Isa may face, as the CJP will be when the controversy regarding general elections within ninety days of the dissolution of national and provincial assemblies may land in the apex court. Another challenge for him will be dealing with the issue of backlog of cases. We have no doubt on capabilities of Justice Isa and are confident that his tenure will prove to be critical in addressing these challenges and ensuring the rule of law is upheld. It will be un-fair not to pen some words for former CJP Umar Ata Bandial whose tenure is being dubbed as a bag of mixed impressions. While during his time, the divisions within the apex court became more apparent yet we understand that history will also remember him as a tolerant CJP as unlike his predecessors, he showed restraint towards politicians, media and citizens. He honoured lawyers in courtrooms, even if they disagreed with him ideologically.
