JCP green-lights female top judge at BHC

Judge to take charge after retirement of incumbent CJ on Sep 1

ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has unanimously approved appointment of Justice Syeda Tahira Safdar as the new Balochistan High Court (BHC) chief justice. She will be the first woman in Pakistan to be elevated as the top judge of a high court.

A member of the JCP revealed to The Express Tribune that the commission took the decision on Monday during a meeting chaired by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar.

The BHC’s incumbent Chief Justice Muhammad Noor Meskanzai is set to retire on September 1 this year. He was sworn in on Dec 26, 2014 after Justice Qazi Faez Isa was elevated as a Supreme Court judge.

Currently, there are 10 judges, including the chief justice, working in the BHC while there are five positions vacant at the high court. Justice Safdar may work as the BHC top judge till October 5 next year.

Interestingly, Justice Safdar was also the first woman to be appointed as a civil judge in Balochistan. She also has the distinction of being the first lady to be appointed in all posts she has so far served. She was also the first female high court judge.



According to her profile on the BHC’s website, Justice Tahira Safdar is the daughter of Syed Imtiaz Hussain Baqri Hanafi, a renowned lawyer. She was born on October 5, 1957 in Quetta and received her basic education from city’s Cantonment Public School.

She did her bachelors from the Government Girls College, Quetta and later a Masters in Urdu Literature degree from the University of Balochistan. She completed her degree in law from Quetta’s University Law College in 1980.



Justice Safdar started her career as a civil judge on April 22, 1982 after passing the competitive examination of the Balochistan Public Service Commission. She was promoted as senior civil judge on June 29, 1987, and as additional district and sessions judge on February 27, 1991.

On March 1, 1996, she was promoted as District and Sessions Judge. Justice Safdar also worked as a presiding officer in a Labour Court. She was appointed as a member of the Balochistan Services Tribunal (BST) on October 22, 1998, and worked until she was appointed as its chairperson on the July 10, 2009.

While working as the BST chairperson, she was elevated as an additional judge in the BHC on September 7, 2009. She was confirmed as a regular judge on May 11, 2011.

Justice Safdar attended training on International Law for Justice on, ‘Meeting International Human Rights Standards in Criminal Proceedings’, which was held in The Hague, the Netherlands in 2012.

She is a member of the Administration Committee, the Promotion Committee and the committee for drafting rules, regulations, notifications, circulars, and to examine the rules and their particulars.

She is one of the three judges of the Special Court constituted under Section 4 Criminal Law Amendment (Special Court) Act of 1976 for holding the high treason trial of former military ruler General (retired) Pervez Musharraf for subverting the Constitution on November 3, 2007.