Munib Akhtar (; born 14 December 1963) is a Pakistani jurist who serves as justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan since 8 May 2018.

Early life and education

Akhtar was born in 1963. He is a son-in-law of former Pakistani law minister

Khalid Anwer Khalid Anwer (Urdu/; 4 November 1938 – 13 March 2025) was a Pakistani lawyer, jurist and constitutional expert who once served as the federal Minister for Law, Justice and Human Rights following his appointment in 1997. He remained in office ...

and the grandson of former Prime Minister of Pakistan Chaudhry Mohammad Ali (1955–1956). He completed his early education from

Aitchison College Aitchison College is an elite private, boarding school, boarding Junior School, Secondary School for boys in Lahore, Pakistan. It has educated Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime ministers, including Imran Khan, Feroz Khan Noon, president of Pakist ...

. Akhtar graduated with a B.A. from

Government College University, Lahore The Government College University (colloquially known as GCU; Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded as Government College, Lahore, in 1864 under British administration, it became a university i ...

in 1983 and from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1986 after completing a 150-page long senior thesis titled "

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

1947 -- 1970: A Comparative Analysis of Economic Development." He earned his

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from

Punjab University Law College Punjab University Law College (PULC) is a public sector law school of University of the Punjab, Canal Road (Quaid e Azam) Campus, Lahore. It is the oldest law institute in Pakistan which was established in 1868, 14 years before Punjab Universi ...

in 1989.

Career

His legal career began with his enrollment as an advocate in subordinate courts in 1990. He was admitted to the

Sindh High Court The High Court of Sindh () ( Sindhi: سنڌ ھائي ڪورٽ) is the highest judicial institution of the Pakistani province of Sindh. Established in 1906, the Court situated in the provincial capital at Karachi. Apart from being the highest ...

in 1992 and the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan (; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance witPart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it h ...

in 2009. Akhtar's practice focused on the Supreme Court and High Courts, specializing in civil law with an emphasis on commercial, corporate, arbitration, and taxation matters. Additionally, he taught law at Hamdard University Law School for a year, specifically a course on Human Rights. Akhtar was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Sindh High Court in 2009 and was confirmed in this role in 2011. His judicial experience includes serving on both original and appellate side benches, dealing with civil, corporate, criminal, tax, and labor/service law, mainly at the Principal Seat and at Sukkur and Hyderabad. In administrative capacities, Akhtar has been a chairman or member of several committees, such as the Civil Rules Committee, I.T. Committee, Judicial Studies Board, Promotion Committee, and Procurement Committee. He has also functioned as a Monitoring Judge in various contexts. Since 2009, Akhtar has held a nominated position as chairman or member of the

board of governors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulations ...

at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA). In 2018, he elevated as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. In May 2024 and May 2025, he assumed the role of acting Chief Justice of Pakistan for a few days while the

Chief Justice of Pakistan The chief justice of Pakistan ( initials as CJP; , ''Munsif-e-Āzam Pākistān'') is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and is the highest-ranking officer of the Pakistani judiciary. The Federal Court of Pakistan was establis ...

, was traveling abroad.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akhtar, Munib 1963 births Living people Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan Aitchison College alumni Government College University, Lahore alumni Punjab University Law College alumni Princeton University alumni Judges of the Sindh High Court