SC, FCC chief justices get NOCs for foreign visits

President Asif Ali Zardari has approved foreign visits of Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi and Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan on the advice of the prime minister, the Presidency said on Monday.

According to a press release issued late on Monday, the president granted ex-Pakistan leave and issued no-objection certificates (NOCs) for the two judges’ upcoming trips.

Chief Justice Afridi is scheduled to visit the United Kingdom, South Korea and Japan from Oct 14 to 21 and again from Oct 27 to Nov 4, the statement said.

Justice Aminuddin will travel to Azerbaijan from Oct 19 to 22 to attend TÜRK-AY, a conference of constitutional courts and other bodies exercising constitutional jurisdiction in the Turkic world.

The FCC was granted observer status at TÜRK-AY in July this year, around four years after the forum was established.

Under Rule 14 of the 1997 and 2025 orders governing leave, pensions and privileges for the respective courts, the president is the competent authority to grant leave to the chief justices of the Supreme Court and the FCC.

The same rules empower each chief justice to approve or reject leave applications from other judges of their court, as well as revoke or shorten leave already granted.

In April 2025, Chief Justice Afridi led a delegation to Hangzhou, China, to attend the 20th Conference of Chief Justices of the Supreme Courts of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation member states.