The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on Wednesday approved the elevation of Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice Musarrat Hilali to the Supreme Court (SC), according to Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar.
The law minister confirmed the development after attending a meeting of the JCP — the constitutional body that recommends elevation of judges to the superior courts.
The development paves the way for Justice Hilali to become only the second female judge to rise to the apex court after Justice Ayesha A. Malik.
Currently, the SC is functioning with 15 judges against the sanctioned strength of 17. Justice Hilali’s elevation will increase the number of SC judges to 16 with one seat left vacant.
She was among the two judges recommended by Justice Qazi Faez Isa— the senior puisne judge of the SC — for elevation to the top court in a letter to all JCP members last month.
In his letter, Justice Isa had asked for an immediate meeting of the JCP, which was long overdue, and suggested the names of chief justices of Sindh and Peshawar high courts to fill two vacancies of SC judges.
Justice Hilali was sworn in as the first woman chief justice of the PHC on April 1after Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan retired from the post.
Following this development, she also became the second female 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.
