ISLAMABAD: Justice Aminuddin Khan, a senior judge of the Supreme Court, was officially sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the newly established Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) in a ceremony held at Aiwan-i-Sadr, Islamabad.
The oath was administered by President Asif Ali Zardari, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif present to witness the occasion. Following the oath-taking, both President Zardari and Prime Minister Sharif extended their congratulations to Justice Aminuddin Khan on his historic appointment. Notably, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also attended the event.
This milestone came shortly after President Zardari ratified the 27th Constitutional Amendment Bill into law, a move that prompted the resignation of Supreme Court Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Athar Minallah in protest. A law ministry notification clarified that Justice Aminuddin Khan’s appointment was made under clauses (3) of Article 175A and Article 175C of the Constitution, taking effect from the moment he took his oath.
The ceremony was attended by chief justices, senior judges, federal ministers, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chairman of the Senate, and other high-ranking officials. Simultaneously, three of the six appointed FCC judges Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Aamir Farooq, and Justice Ali Baqar Najfi—also took their oaths in a separate ceremony held at Islamabad High Court, where Chief Justice Sarfaraz Dogar officiated.
The notified appointments included Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Aamir Farooq, Justice Ali Baqar Najfi, Justice Karim Khan Agha, Justice Rozi Khan, and Justice Arshad Hussain Shah. Justice Musarrat Hilali, initially considered for appointment, declined the offer to serve on the FCC.
Born in Multan in 1960, Justice Aminuddin Khan comes from a legal family. He earned his LLB degree from University Law College, Multan, in 1984, and began practicing law under his father, Khan Sadiq Muhammad Ahsan. He became an advocate of the Lahore High Court in 1987 and was admitted to the Supreme Court bar in 2001. He joined Zafar Law Chambers in Multan, where he worked until his elevation to the judiciary in 2011. He primarily handled civil cases in Multan and Bahawalpur benches before being sworn in as a Supreme Court judge in 2019, where he was sworn in by then-Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khosa.
Justice Aminuddin Khan was appointed as head of the Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench in November 2024 and was recognized as the fourth most senior judge in the Supreme Court. Over his career, he has adjudicated thousands of civil cases, with most of his judgments upheld by the Supreme Court. He has also worked alongside prominent legal figures such as Mian Nisar Ahmed and Umar Ata Bandial.
