Islamabad:Justice Ayesha Malik made history in the judicial history of Pakistan after being sworn in as the first female judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, at an oath taking ceremony held here at the Supreme Court building on Monday.
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmed administered her the oath of office. The oath taking ceremony was attended by the Supreme Court judges, Attorney General for Pakistan, senior lawyers, Law Officers and officers of Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan.
Registrar Supreme Court of Pakistan conducted the proceedings of oath taking ceremony. Officers and staff of the Supreme Court were also present on the occasion. Justice Ayesha Malik will now work as a Supreme Court judge until June 2031. She could also become the CJP after the retirement of Justice Yahya Afridi in January 2030.
“No one can take the credit for Justice Ayesha’s appointment as the apex court judge, as she has been purely appointed on the basis of merit”, the CJP maintained on the occasion in a brief chat with media persons. With the elevation of Justice Ayesha Malik, the Supreme Court has attained its sanctioned strength- which is 17 judges- including the CJP.
It is pertinent to mention here that Justice Ayesha Malik was ranked fourth in the Lahore High Court in terms of seniority, but is widely respected as a capable judge. Born in 1966, Justice Ayesha Malik completed her basic education from schools in Paris, New York, and Karachi, according to the LHC’s website.
She completed her B. Com from the Government College of Commerce and Economics, Karachi, and studied law at Pakistan College of Law, Lahore. She did LLM from Harvard Law School and also worked with Fakhruddin G Ebrahim. She was appointed as judge of the Lahore High Court on March 27, 2012.