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Pakistan's New Chief Justice Sworn In


Pakistani Supreme Court building in Islamabad.
Pakistani Supreme Court building in Islamabad.

Pakistan's new chief justice, Nasirul Mulk, has been sworn in at a ceremony in Islamabad.

Mulk, the Supreme Court's most senior judge, took over from Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, who retired.

The 63-year-old Mulk has signaled the end of years of judicial activism by the Supreme Court and called for harmony with other state institutions.

Pakistan's judiciary became politically active after former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, dismissed by then-military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2007, was restored to office in 2009 following a country-wide protest by lawyers.

Chaudhry took up several cases against the government and disqualified then-Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on contempt-of-court charges.

After Chaudhry's retirement in 2013, his successor Jillani heard cases of public interest and individual complaints as a priority.

Based on reporting by AFP, "Express Tribune," and "Dawn"
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