Justice Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry, newly appointed judge of the Supreme Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), took oath on Monday, completing the court’s sanctioned strength of judges.
The oath was administered by Chief Justice of the AJK Supreme Court, Justice Raja Saeed Akram Khan, during a ceremony held at the Supreme Court building in Muzaffarabad.
The oath-taking ceremony was attended by senior Supreme Court judge Justice Raza Ali Khan, Chief Justice of the AJK High Court Justice Sardar Liaquat Hussain, High Court judge Justice Khalid Rasheed Chaudhry, former senior Supreme Court judge Khawaja Muhammad Naseem, former Supreme Court judge Ghulam Mustafa Mughal, former Chief Justice of the High Court Sadaqat Hussain Raja, chairpersons of the Service Tribunal and Environmental Tribunal, Vice Chairman Bar Council Tariq Bashir, President Supreme Court Bar Association Raja Aftab Ahmed Khan, presidents and secretaries of High Court and Central Bar associations, representatives of bar councils and bar associations across AJK, government secretaries and a large number of lawyers.
The ceremony began with the recitation of the Holy Quran. Secretary Law of the Azad Government of the State of Jammu and Kashmir, Irshad Ahmed Qureshi, read out the notification of Justice Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry’s appointment as judge of the Supreme Court. Prior to his elevation, Justice Chaudhry had served as a judge of the AJK High Court and was performing duties as Custodian of Evacuee Property at the time of his appointment.
Justice Khalid Yousaf Chaudhry completed his law degree from the University of the Punjab in 1995 and began his legal career the same year as an advocate in Mirpur.
Under the AJK Interim Constitution Act, 1974, the Supreme Court comprises three judges, including the Chief Justice, one senior judge and one judge.
According to the procedure for judicial appointments in AJK, the Azad Kashmir government forwards a panel of senior lawyers to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, who is also the Chairman of the AJK Council. After approval of a nominee from the panel, advice is sent back to the AJK government, following which the Law Department issues a formal notification for the appointment.
