• Judges’ salaries raised to Rs1.5m per month
• Afridi to remain ‘CJP’ until retirement, title will subsequently go to whoever is senior among FCC and SC chief justices
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has approved an increase in the salaries, judicial allowance and pension benefits of Supreme Court judges, bringing them at par with those of judges of the newly constituted Federal Constitutional Court (FCC), effective from Dec 10, 2025.
Under the Salary of Judges of the Supreme Court Order, 2026, the monthly salary of Supreme Court judges has been increased to Rs1.5 million from the earlier Rs1.16m. The order will come into force immediately and will be deemed to have taken effect from Dec 10, 2025.
However, Chief Justice Yahya Afridi will receive a monthly salary of Rs1.6m, although the order specifies Rs1.55 million as the salary of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Justice Yahya Afridi will receive the enhanced salary of Rs1.6m as he has been designated as the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP).
He will also retain the coveted title of CJP until his superannuation on Oct 26, 2027, following a last-minute change introduced through the 27th Constitution Amendment. Earlier, it was believed that the title would eventually go to the chief justice of the FCC.
The substitution made in Clause 23 of Article 176 clarifies that the incumbent Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who is Justice Yahya Afridi, will continue to hold the title of CJP for the remainder of his term. Justice Afridi was sworn in as the 30th Chief Justice of Pakistan in October 2024, for a three-year term.
Another provision introduced through the amendment defines the CJP, after the retirement of the incumbent, as the senior of the two chief justices — that is, the chief justices of the FCC and the Supreme Court. This provision will come into effect after the retirement of the incumbent CJP.
The issue was further clarified when Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar rejected the impression that the 27th Amendment had abolished the office of the CJP.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, the law minister said the office had not been abolished and that CJP Afridi would continue to head key judicial bodies, including the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the Judicial Commission of Pakistan. After his retirement, however, the position of CJP will go to whichever of the two chief justices — of the FCC or the Supreme Court — is senior.
To increase the salary of the CJP, the president also approved the Chief Justice of Pakistan Order, 2026, which will be deemed to have taken effect from July 1, 2026. Likewise, under the Supreme Court Judges (Leave, Pension and Privileges) (Amendment) Order, 2026, which will also take effect from Dec 10, 2025, an amendment has been made to paragraph 22, under which a judge will be entitled to a monthly superior judicial allowance of Rs1.5m.
Similarly, an amendment to paragraph 16 provides that the pension of the Chief Justice and judges of the Supreme Court will be calculated at 85pc and 75pc, respectively, of the salary as determined by the president.
In addition, paragraph 19 has been amended by inserting a provision under which a judge will be entitled to a monthly medical allowance of Rs150,000.
Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2026
