ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi on Monday appointed Justice Muhammad Anwaarul Haq as the chief justice of the Lahore High Court, effective Tuesday.
Justice Haq replaces Justice Yawar Ali. He will take oath as chief justice of the LHC today at Governor’s House. Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar will administer the oath.
Justice Anwaar will be the 47th chief justice of the LHC. He was elevated to the bench on February 19, 2010.
A notification stated that seven others have been appointed as additional judges to the court.
These include justices Farooq Haider, Shakilur Rehman, Ahmad Raza, Asim Hafeez, Sadiq Mahmud Khurram, Rasaal Hasan Syed and Muhammad Waheed Khan.
Moreover, a full court reference was held in honour of LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali on his retirement.
Chief Justice-designate Justice Muhammad Anwaarul Haq, as well as other LHC judges, bar leaders and a large number of eminent lawyers, graced the occasion.
Speaking at the full court reference, Justice Anwaarul Haq said that the honour achieved by the chief justice was not easy. It came after years of long dedicated services to the cause of justice, he added.
He said that the chief justice introduced judicial reforms to provide justice to the litigants. He said that Justice Yawar Ali endeavoured to modernise the court systems, and adopted an innovative and progressive approach.
Chief Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali stated that he took steps to reduce shelf-life of the cases so that quick justice could be provided to the litigant public which was made possible by the teamwork of his fellow judges. He also thanked the judges as well as the bar leadership for their full cooperation and support during his tenure.
Earlier, Punjab advocate general, Punjab prosecutor general, deputy attorney general, Pakistan Bar Council member, Punjab Bar Council vice chairman, Lahore High Court Bar Association secretary and presidents of High Court Bar Associations Bahawalpur, Multan and Rawalpindi Benches also read out the references in honour of Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali.