Justice Mussarat Hilali was sworn in as a Supreme Court judge Friday, making her the second woman since Pakistan’s independence to be elevated to the apex court.
Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial administered the oath to Justice Hilali at the top court in a ceremony attended by SC judges, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan, and members of the legal fraternity.
With her appointment, the top court now has a total of 16 judges, with one slot vacant.
Justice Hilali — the first woman chief justice of Peshawar High Court — will serve as the top court’s judge for a period of three years before her retirement. She was also the first woman to become the CJ of any high court in the country.
Justice Ayesha A Malik became the first woman to be elevated to the top court in 2022.
Born in Peshawar on August 08, 1961, Justice Hilali received a 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:
- First female elected as an office-bearer in the post of secretary at the bar from 1988-1989
- Vice president at the bar (twice) from 1992 till 1994
- General Secretary from 1997 till 1998
- First female twice elected as an executive member of the 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.
Justice Hilali also served as the first female ombudsman for protection against the harassment of women in the workplace.
She was elevated to the bench as an additional judge on March 26, 2013, and confirmed as a permanent judge of the Peshawar High Court on March 13, 2014.
On April 1, 2023, she took oath as the acting CJ of PHC and was later confirmed as the PHC’s CJ on May 12, 2023.
