Justice Ayesha Malik officially elevated to become first woman SC judge

President Arif Alvi Friday gave final approval to the elevation of Lahore High Court Justice Ayesha Malik as a judge of the Supreme Court, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

A notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice said President Alvi had approved her appointment under sub-section one of Article 177 of the Constitution.

Justice Ayesha will make history as the first female Supreme Court judge in the judicial history of Pakistan. Her tenure will begin from the date she takes the oath of office.

The president's approval follows a formal go-ahead to the promotion from the Parliamentary Committee on Judges Appointments this past Wednesday. The Judicial Commission of Pakistan had on January 7 approved the elevation with a vote of five for and four against after a heated discussion on whether judges should be appointed based on merit or seniority.

It is pertinent to mention here that Justice Ayesha Malik is ranked fourth in the Lahore High Court in terms of seniority, but is widely respected as a capable judge.

Justice Ayesha Malik has been nominated to take the seat being vacated by Justice Mushir Alam following his retirement on August 17.

Her appointment had been suggested by the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court. Justice Ayesha had subsequently agreed to the elevation in writing.

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 BCom 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 has also worked with Fakhurddin G Ebrahim. Justice Ayesha has appeared in the high courts, district courts, banking courts, special tribunals, and arbitration tribunals.

The justice was called upon as an expert witness in family law cases conducted in England and Australia involving issues of child custody, divorce, women's rights, and constitutional protection for women in Pakistan.

She became LHC judge on March 27, 2012 and during her nine years and 10 months tenure as LHC judge, she made a record of deciding over 35,000 cases.

Justice Ayehsa Malik gave her landmark judgment back in June 2021 when she had declared virginity tests for examination of sexual assault survivors “illegal and against the Constitution of Pakistan."

She also gave a verdict declaring the transfer of Sharif family’s sugar mills as illegal. She also gave a decision to make it compulsory for the candidates to declare their complete assets for contesting the general elections.

She also declared it unnecessary to take a civil court declaration for change of name in NADRA. Justice Ayesha Malik also gave order of merit-based hiring of women in CTD. In another landmark decision, Justice Ayesha declared that unmarried daughter of deceased male or female government employees will be given the pension.

Justice Ayesha Malik will serve in the Supreme Court till June 2, 2031 before her retirement and she would also get the honour of becoming first female Chief Justice of Pakistan.

Reporter: Muhammad Ashraf