Islamabad [Pakistan], January 12 : Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Friday accepted the resignation of the Supreme Court's senior-most judge, Ijaz Ul Ahsan, according to his office's statement, as reported by ARY News.
Ahsan submitted his resignation on Thursday, a day after Justice Mazahar Ali Naqvi resigned from office, marking significant changes in the leadership structure of the top court.
The president, today, approved his resignation on the advice of the caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar in the exercise of the power under Article 179 of the Constitution.
Following the resignation of Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, the Senior judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan has also resigned from his post, ARY News reported.
Reportedly, he was the third most senior judge of the apex court and next in line to become the Chief Justice of Pakistan in October 2024, as per the sources reported by ARY News.
Moreover, after Ahsan's resignation, the strength of the Supreme Court has now reduced to 14 out of the available 16 judges, against a sanctioned strength of 17.
Both judges were considered 'close' to former CJP Umar Ata Bandial, with analysts noting that the jurists were involved in issuing controversial ordersalong with another judge, Justice Munib Akhtar.
Earlier, Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan opposed the proceedings against Justice Mazahir Ali Naqvi and did not attend the Supreme Judicial Council meeting yesterday, according to ARY News.
Ahsan was also a part of the infamous Panama Papers bench that disqualified Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, Geo News reported.
He was also appointed to oversee the proceedings of the references that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has been asked to file by the top court against Nawaz, his family members, and former finance minister Ishaq Dar.
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