DHAKA: Pakistan’s new chief justice was sworn in on Sunday after signalling an end to years of judicial activism which have seen various Supreme Court decisions on political issues.

Nasir-ul-Mulk, 63, the supreme court’s most senior judge, took over as chief justice after his predecessor Tassaduq Hussain Jillani retired.

The judiciary became politically active after former chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was sacked by the then-military ruler General Pervez Musharraf in 2007, was restored to office in 2009 following a country-wide movement by lawyers.

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

BDST: 1526 HRS, JULY 05, 2014