ISLAMABAD: Six judges of the Supreme Court (SC) chose not to attend the full court reference held in honor of outgoing Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa.
According to media reports, the judges who skipped the reference included Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Ayesha Malik, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Athar Minallah, and Justice Malik Shehzad.
The absence of these judges marked a noticeable reduction in attendance at the traditionally well-attended farewell event.
The oath-taking ceremony for the new CJP, Justice Yahya Afridi, is scheduled for tomorrow, with President Asif Ali Zardari set to administer the oath.
In the lead-up to the full court reference, a farewell dinner was hosted by the Supreme Court Bar Association and the Pakistan Bar Council in honor of outgoing CJP Qazi Faez Isa.
The event was attended by the newly nominated Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, other Supreme Court judges, and Chief Justices from all high courts.