Ayesha Malik Could be First Female Chief Justice of Pakistan
The apex court judge Justice Yahya will retire in January 2030 who is preceded by the nominated female jurist in the seniority list
Justice Ayesha Malik will be elevated to the Supreme Court (SC) of Pakistan next month to become the first female judge to secure the position and she could also become the first female chief justice before retiring.
Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed has summoned the meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on September 9.
The chance of becoming the first female chief justice of the country for Justice Ayesha Malik is also high.
She is currently the fourth most senior judge in the Lahore High Court (LHC).
Justice Ayesha Malik will replace SC judge Justice Mushir Alam who is retiring on August 17. After induction to SC, the female jurist will retire from the apex court in March 2031.
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SC judge Justice Yahya will depart in January 2030 who is preceded by the nominated jurist in the seniority list, making room for Ayesha Malik to become the first female chief justice of Pakistan.
The jurist completed her LLB from the Harvard Law School Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
She was named a London H. Gammon Fellow 1998-1999 for outstanding merit.
The low representation of female jurists in the higher judiciary has been a subject of debate in the country. However, the trend appears to be changing.
In December 2019, Lubna Saleem became the first female judge of Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Majida Rizvi was the first female jurist to be appointed in any high court of Pakistan and she became part of Sindh High Court (SHC) bench in 1994.
Meanwhile, the first female chief justice of any high court was Tahira Safdar. She served as the chief justice of Balochistan High Court (BHC) between 2009 and 2011.
