PHOTO: EXPRESS

Justice Gulzar Ahmed on Saturday took oath as the 27th chief justice of Pakistan in a ceremony held at the President House.He will remain the country's supreme judge till February 2022.The oath was administered by President Arif Alvi and the ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Supreme Court judges, senior lawyers and other government officials and ministers."As chief justice of Pakistan, I will discharge my duties and perform my functions honestly, to the best of my ability and faithfully, in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the law," he said.Born in 1957 in Karachi, Justice Gulzar started his practice at the Sindh High Court (SHC) in 1986. He became the Supreme Court advocate in 1988 and later become the SHC judge in 1992. Justice Gulzar is serving as a Supreme Court judge since November 16, 2011.Justice Gulzar had remained part of benches which had announced various landmark and high profile judgments. Justice Gulzar was also part of the bench which disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in Panama case.He is seen as an expert on civil and corporate law. He has remained part of the benches on several important matters, including constitutional amendments, military courts, Panamagate, restoration of Karachi Circular Railway, and removal of encroachments.Last year, he visited the United States to raise funds for the Diamer-Bhasha Dam. He also represented Pakistan at several international conferences on mediation and counter terrorism and other topics.