Munmun Kaur
Published On: January 07, 2022 at 11:45 IST
Pakistan is all set to make history as Justice Ayesha Malik of the Lahore Court is being considered to be appointed as the first woman Supreme Court Judge.
On January 06, the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) which is headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed approved the elevation of Justice Ayesha Malik by a majority of five votes against four.
As per the reports, this was the second time when Justice Malik’s elevation to the Supreme Court was being considered. Apparently, in September last year, her elevation was taken up for consideration but was later rejected owing to a tie of four votes against four.
Now, the matter is up for consideration with the Parliamentary Committee. Considering the past records, this committee concurs with the JCP’s recommendation in most cases. Therefore, there is a high chance that Pakistan will get to see its first woman Supreme Court Judge.
Although, the possible elevation is facing huge backlash from the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC). On January 06, PBC threatened to boycott Courts if the JCP cleared Justice Ayesha Malik’s name for the elevation. Abdul Latif Afridi, who is the president of Pakistan’s Supreme Court Bar Association had called for a country wide protest on her possible elevation. Apparently, he told the media that Justice Malik is junior to many Judges in the five High Courts of Pakistan.
Justice Ayesha Malik, who is an LLM graduate from the Harvard Law School, was a partner at a leading corporate and commercial law firm before her elevation to the Lahore High Court as a Judge in 2012. She is currently, fourth senior most Judge in Lahore High Court.