Justice Ms Musarrat Hilali takes oath as first woman acting chief justice of PHC
PESHAWAR, April 01 (SABAH): Justice Ms Musarrat Hilali on Saturday took oath as the acting chief justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), becoming the first woman to reach the position. Judicial Commission of Pakistan under the chairmanship of Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial will approve her appointment as permanent CJ PHC.
Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa Governor Haji Ghalam Ali administered the oath to Ms Musarrat Hilali at a ceremony held at the Governor House, Peshawar. Several judges, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usamn Awan and a large number of lawyers were present on the occasion.
President Dr. Arif Alvi on Wednesday approved the appointment of Justice Ms Musarrat Hilali as the acting chief justice. She has replaced outgoing Chief Justice Roohul Amin Khan, who became chief justice only for day and retired on Friday. Meanwhile prior to this Chief Justice Peshawar High Court Qaiser Rasheed Khan was retired on Thursday after completing his constitutional term of 62 years as high court judge.
Justice Ms Musarrat Hilali is the second female judge to be elevated to the chief justice of a high court in Pakistan after Justice Syeda Tahira Safdar, the CJ of Balochistan High Court (BHC). Justice Hilali will serve as CJ PHC till her retirement on 7th August 2023 if not elevated to Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Born in Peshawar on August 08, 1961, she received Law Degree from Khyber Law College Peshawar University and enrolled as an Advocate of District Courts in 1983, as an Advocate of the High Court in 1988 and as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2006.
Being a female she had several achievements in her career including being the first female elected office bear on the post of Secretary at the bar from 1988-1989, vice president at the bar (twice) from 1992 to 1994, General Secretary 1997-1998, first female twice elected as an executive member of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) from 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.
She was also the first female Additional Advocate General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from November 2001 to March 2004 and was later appointed as the first female Chairperson Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Tribunal.
She also served as the first female Ombudsman for the Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace. She was elevated to the Bench as Additional Judge on March 26, 2013, and confirmed as a permanent judge of the Peshawar High Court on March 13, 2014.