Justice Aalia Neelum took oath on Thursday as the Lahore High Court’s first woman chief justice.

Punjab Governor Saleem Haider Khan administered the oath to the new chief justice at the Governor House. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz was also present.

Earlier, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), under the chairmanship of Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa had unanimously recommended her name for the position.

Justice Neelum is third in the seniority list of the LHC after the elevation of former LHC CJ Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan to the Supreme Court. She was born on 12 November 1966.

She was enrolled as an advocate on February 1,1996. Justice Neelum will serve until November 11, 2028.

Sources told Business Recorder that the JCP also unanimously proposed Justice Shafi Muhammad Siddiqui’s name for the post of Sindh High Court (SHC) top judge.

The slot was vacated after the elevation of SHC CJ Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi as judge of the Supreme Court with Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan and Justice Shahid Bilal Hassan.