ISLAMABAD: Justice Mussarat Hilali was sworn in as a judge of the Supreme Court on Friday, making her the second woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court since Pakistan’s independence.
Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandyal administered the oath to Justice Hilali in the Supreme Court, which was attended by Supreme Court judges, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan and members of the legal community.
With his appointment, the Supreme Court now has a total of 16 judges, with one vacancy.
Justice Hilali – the first woman Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court – will serve as a Supreme Court judge for three years before her retirement. She was also the first woman to become the Chief Justice of any High Court in the country.
Justice Ayesha A. Malik became the first woman to be elevated to the Supreme Court in 2022.
Who is Justice Hilali?
Born on August 8, 1961 in Peshawar, Justice Hilali obtained his law degree from Khyber Law College, University of Peshawar and was admitted as an Advocate of the District Courts in 1983, an Advocate of the High Court in 1988 and an Advocate of the Supreme Court. Pakistan in 2006
Being a woman, she achieved many achievements in her career including:
- During 1988-1989, she was elected the first woman official to the post of Secretary at the Bar.
- Vice President at the Bar from 1992 to 1994 (twice).
- He was the General Secretary from 1997 to 1998.
- First woman to be elected Executive Member of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) for two terms from 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.
She was also the first woman Additional Advocate General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from November 2001 to March 2004 and was later appointed as the first woman Chairperson of Environmental Protection Tribunal of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Justice Hilali also served as the first woman ombudsman for the protection of women against harassment in the workplace.
She joined the Bench as an Additional Judge on 26 March 2013 and was confirmed as a Permanent Judge of the Peshawar High Court on 13 March 2014.
On April 1, 2023, he was sworn in as Acting Chief Justice of PHC and was later confirmed as Chief Justice of PHC on May 12, 2023.
