Justice Ayesha Malik takes oath as first female Supreme Court judge

ISLAMABAD: Justice Ayesha Malik made history in Pakistan’s judicial system by becoming the first female judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed administered the oath to Justice Ayesha Malik as a judge of the apex court in the Supreme Court building. All members of the Supreme Court were present on the occasion including Justice Umar Ata Bandial, who has been nominated as the next top judge of Pakistan.

Justice Ayesha had been officially elevated to the rank of a judge of the apex court on Friday. With Justice Ayesha taking the office as an SC judge, the apex court will attain the strength of 17 judges.

Besides Justice Ayesha, there are eight other judges from Punjab include Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Qazi Muhammad Amin, Justice Aminuddin Khan and Justice Syed Mazahir Ali Naqvi.

The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) had approved the nomination of Justice Ayesha Malik for her appointment as an SC judge. Justice Ayesha Malik has been nominated for the seat which became vacant after the retirement of Justice Mushir Alam on August 17.

Chief Justice of Pakistan and Chief Justice Lahore High Court had suggested the name of Justice Ayesha Malik, to which she also agreed in writing. The final approval regarding the appointment of Justice Ayesha Malik had been sent to the Parliamentary Committee on Judges, after which the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) finally approved the nomination of Justice Ayesha Malik for her appointment as an SC judge.

Profile and Career

Ayesha Malik was born in 1966 and completed her basic education in Paris and New York and did her Senior Cambridge from the Karachi Grammar School, Karachi. She then did her A’ Level from Francis Holland School for Girls in London.

She completed her B.Com from the Government College of Commerce & Economics, Karachi and studied law at Pakistan College of Law, Lahore. She went on to do her LL.M from Harvard Law School where she was named a London H. Gammon Fellow 1998-1999 for outstanding merit.

During 1997-2001, she worked with Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim & Co., Karachi, where she assisted the noted judge Fakhurddin G. Ebrahim. From 2001 till her elevation to Lahore High Court, she worked with Rizvi, Isa, Afridi & Angell known as RIAA, initially as a Senior Associate and from 2004 as a Partner and was in charge of the law firm’s Lahore Office.

She has taught law as a Lecturer of Banking Law at University of Punjab, Department of Masters of Business and Information Technology. She was also a lecturer of Mercantile Law at College of Accounting & Management Sciences, Karachi and spent many years voluntarily teaching English Language and Development in Communication Skills at Herman Meiner School in Lahore.

She has appeared in the High Courts, District Courts, Banking Court, Special Tribunals and Arbitration Tribunals. She 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 has been counsel, pro bono for NGOs involved in poverty alleviation programs, microfinance programs and skills training programs.