PESHAWAR: In a historic appointment, Justice Musarrat Hilali was sworn in as the first female chief justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Saturday.
The ceremony, held at the Governor House in Peshawar, saw Justice Hilali take the oath of office, which she will hold until a regular chief justice is appointed by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP).
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali administered the oath and extended his congratulations and best wishes to Justice Hilali, a senior puisne judge of the court.
In attendance were several senior judicial and government officials, including lawyers, KP police chief Akhtar Hayat Khan, provincial Law Secretary Masood Ahmad, and Special Assistant to Caretaker Chief Minister Pir Haroon Shah, among others.
Justice Hilali’s profile on the PHC website reads she obtained her law degree from Khyber Law College Peshawar University. She began her legal career as an advocate of district courts in 1983, followed by an enrollment as a lawyer of the high court in 1988. In 2006, she was enrolled as a barrister of the Supreme Court.
Her illustrious career also includes being the first woman additional advocate general of KP, a position she held from November 2001 to March 2004. Hilali was also appointed as the first woman chairperson of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Environmental Protection Tribunal.
Should Justice Hilali be appointed as the regular chief justice, she would become only the second woman to serve in this capacity in any of the high courts. Justice Syeda Tahira Safdar was appointed as the chief justice of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) in 2018.
