The Parliamentary Committee on the Appointment of Judges has endorsed the decision of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) to appoint Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Mussarat Hilali as a Supreme Court judge – the second woman to be elevated to the SC after Justice Ayesha Malik.
The meeting of the committee was chaired by PPP Senator Farooq Hamid Naek. Issues related to the appointment of judges of the SC and the Federal Shariat Court were reviewed during the huddle.
In the meeting, the parliamentary committee unanimously approved the appointment of PHC CJ Mussarat Hilali as an SC judge while endorsing the decision of the JCP.
The body also gave its nod to the appointment of Justice Syed Muhammad Anwar as an aalim judge of the Federal Shariat Court.
According to sources, the total number of judges in the SC will increase to 16 after the inclusion of Justice Hilali while one slot in the top court will still be vacant.
Justice Hilali’s name was recommended by JCP member, SC senior puisne judge and the next CJP, Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
In May, Justice Isa wrote a letter to all members of the body proposing the elevation of PHC CJ Hilali and Sindh High Court Chief Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh to the SC.
Eventually, last month, the JCP approved the elevation of Justice Hilali to the top court.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar confirmed the development after participating in a meeting of the JCP.
The chief justice had already sought the case log about the verdicts pronounced by the PHC chief justice as well as the data about the high court judges who recently attained superannuation.
The JCP is responsible for approving the appointment of judges to the SC and five high courts of the country.
The CJP also heads the commission as its chairman.
The body comprises four senior-most judges of the SC, former judge, federal law minister, attorney general for Pakistan and senior advocate nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC).
One representative each is nominated by the provincial and Islamabad bar councils. According to Article 175-A of the Constitution, the JCP, after confirmation, will propose the names to the Parliamentary Committee for the Appointment of Judges for the superior judiciary.
Justice Hilali took oath as the first female chief justice of the PHC on April 1 after Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan’s retirement.
She also became the second woman judge to become the chief justice of a high court in the country after Justice Tahira Safdar, who served as the Balochistan High Court CJ from September 2018 to October 2019.
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