ISLAMABAD: Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Musarrat Hilali became the second woman judge of the country’s top court as President Dr Arif Alvi on Wednesday approved her appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

A notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice said that Justice Hilali’s appointment would come into effect when she takes her oath.

A day ago, an eight-member parliamentary committee on judges’ appointments approved the unanimous approval given by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on June 14 to elevate Justice Hilali to the apex court.

With her elevation, the Supreme Court will have two women judges, the first being Justice Ayesha Malik. Meanwhile, the number of judges on the top court will increase to 16 out of a total sanctioned strength of 17.

Justice Hilali’s name was suggested by Justice Qazi Faez Isa, the senior puisne judge of the Supreme Court, in his letter dated May 2 to all JCP members, emphasising the need for an early meeting to fill two vacant offices of judges in the SC.

Justice Isa’s letter had also urged the immediate filling of the vacancies in the top court, recommending the nomination of judges in advance while considering the principle of seniority.

Justice Hilali was sworn in as the first woman chief justice of the PHC on April 1 after Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan retired from the post.

Following this development, she also became the second female judge to become the chief justice of a high court in Pakistan after Justice Tahira Safdar, the chief justice of the Balochistan High Court from September 2018 to October 2019.

Justice Hilali was born in Peshawar on August 8, 1961.She received her law degree from Khyber Law College, University of Peshawar, and was enrolled as an advocate of district courts in 1983. She was enrolled as an advocate of the high court in 1988 and that of the Supreme Court in 2006.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023