Justice Ayesha Malik to be Pakistan's first woman Supreme Court judge

A parliamentary panel in Pakistan on Wednesday approved the elevation of High Court judge Ayesha Malik to the Supreme Court, moving a step closer to appoint the first woman judge of the apex court in the conservative Muslim-majority country.

The name of Justice Malik, currently working as a judge of the Lahore High Court, was sent to the Parliamentary Committee on Judges Appointment by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed earlier this month.

The bipartisan Parliamentary Committee headed by Senator Farooq H Naek of Pakistan People's Party, in its meeting held in Islamabad endorsed her nomination, removing the last big hurdle in her elevation to the apex court.

The committee while approving her nomination created an exception by setting aside the seniority principle because Justice Malik, who is on the fourth position on the seniority list of the judges of the Lahore High Court, would be the first woman top judge, according to Naek.

''We have approved Justice Ayesha's name in national interest,'' he said.

Normally seniority of high courts judges is considered while approving their elevation to the Supreme Court and it was the reason when her name was rejected by the JCP last year.

Even the latest JCP meeting held on January 6 hotly contested the issue before finally granting approval of Malik's nomination by a marginal difference of five members of JCP supporting her while four opposing the nomination.

Her name will be sent to President Arif Alvi and after his approval, Justice Malik will become the first woman judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Justice Malik was appointed as a judge of the Lahore High Court in March 2012. She will now work as a Supreme Court judge until her superannuation in June 2031. She will also be the senior most serving judge and likely to become the Chief Justice of Pakistan in January 2030. In that scenario, she would again create history by becoming the first chief justice of Pakistan.

The chief justice of the Supreme Court is appointed on the basis of their seniority of service in the apex court.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)