Islamabad: Justice Ayesha A. Malik of Lahore High Court will be the first woman judge of the Pakistan Supreme Court. This is an important moment in the judicial history of a conservative Muslim country like Pakistan.
According to a notification issued by the Law Ministry, President Arif Alvi has approved the promotion of 55 years old Justice Malik and her appointment will be effective as soon as she takes oath of office.
The historic moment came two days after the bipartisan parliamentary committee on Appointments to the Supreme Judiciary approved the promotion of Ayesha A. Malik.
Her name was recommended by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) earlier this month.
The parliamentary committee headed by Pakistan People’s Party MP Farooq H Naik, while clearing her nomination, rejected the principle of seniority.
Justice Ayesha Malik is at the fourth position in the seniority list of judges of the Lahore High Court.
Justice Malik was appointed a judge of the Lahore High Court in March 2012.
She will now serve as a Supreme Court judge until her retirement in June 2031.
She will be in line to become the Chief Justice in January 2030, based on her seniority.
Early Life of Justice Ayesha Malik
Justice Ayesha Malik received her basic education from schools in Paris and New York and did her A level education from the Francis Holland School for Girls in London.
Her education in Pakistan included a Senior Cambridge from Karachi Grammar School and a Bachelor of Commerce from the Government College of Commerce and Economics in Karachi.
She took her early legal education from the Pakistan College of Law in Lahore. Later She did her LLM from Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Justice Malik’s main academic achievement was being named a London H. Gammon Fellow 1998-1999 for Outstanding Merit. She is married with three children.
