There’s a strong possibility that Justice Mansoor Ali Shah would serve as the chief justice of Pakistan for up to three years after the resignation of his fellow judge Justice Ijazul Ahsan, succeeding CJP Qazi Faez Isa.

This came after Justice Ahsan followed in Justice Mazahir Naqvi’s footsteps who a day earlier stepped down as the SC judge. Naqvi was facing a Supreme Judicial Council inquiry over allegations of misconduct, a show-cause notice for which was issued in October last year.

Ahsan was the third most senior judge after Justice Sardar Tariq Masood. If he had become the 30th CJP, he would have served until August 4, 2025.

He had been on most of the benches formed by former CJP Umar Ata Bandial to hear important constitutional issues. He was on the three-member bench that suspended the Election Commission of Pakistan’s order on the transfer of Ghulam Dogar, a pro-PTI officer.

Ahsan was also part of the bench that heard the Panama case and was one of the three judges who ordered the formation of a JIT to inquire into Sharif family’s corruption.

In 2016, he was elevated from the Lahore High Court.

But after the resignation, Justice Shah would become the next CJP on August 4, 2024 and will serve in this position until November 27, 2027. He too was elevated from the Lahore High Court. The judge holding the post of chief justice of Pakistan has extraordinary importance like he has a key role in constituting a bench for any case.

His areas of special interest are the constitutional law, human rights, climate and water justice, environmental sustainability, disability rights, criminology, digital surveillance, privacy and proportionality, according to the bio available on the SC website.

At the SC, he has helped establish e-courts by video linking the principal seat of the SC with all the provincial registries of the Supreme Court. This was done prior to Covid-19 and has attained exceptional utility during the pandemic.