Justice Musarrat Hilali as First Woman CJ of Peshawar High Court
Justice Musarrat Hilali became first female acting chief justice of Peshawar High Court following her appointment by President on Wednesday.
As PHC Chief Justice, Qaiser Rashid Khan is set to retire on Thursday, law and justice ministry issued two notifications for appointment of acting chief justices. Senior puisne judge Justice Rooh-ul-Amin Khan, who was also appointed acting chief justice, will serve as CJ for only one day as he is scheduled to retire on March 31 (Friday).
As per notification, Justice Hilali will act as PHC chief justice from April 1 till appointment of a regular chief justice on recommendation of Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP).
JCP has yet to schedule a meeting under Article 175-A of Constitution for appointment of a regular chief justice of PHC.
Born in Peshawar on Aug 8, 1961, Justice Hilali, who is presently senior-most judge of the high court after Justice Rooh-ul-Amin Khan, will retire on Aug 7 this year.
She received her law degree from Khyber Law College, University of Peshawar, and was enrolled as an advocate of district courts in 1983. She was enrolled as an advocate of high court in 1988 and that of Supreme Court in 2006.
Justice Hilali has earned several distinctions in her career — first as a civil society activist and member of bar and then her elevation to bench. Known as an outspoken human Rights Activist, she remained office-bearer of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and also headed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter on different occasions.
Justice Hilali was an active member of Peshawar High Court Bar Association and served as its first female secretary, Vice President And General Secretary. She was twice elected as executive member of Supreme Court Bar Association for 2007-08 and 2008-09.
She remained one of most active lawyers in KP during famous lawyers’ movement, which was started after a reference was filed against then chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry in March 2007. During that movement, one of her legs got fractured when police raided her residence for arresting her.
Justice Hilali also served against different key legal positions, becoming the first female in province on all those posts. She served as first woman additional advocate general from November 2001 to March 2004 and as chairperson of the KP Environmental Protection Tribunal.
She was also first ombudsperson appointed in 2010 under Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2010. She was elevated to bench as additional judge on March 26, 2013, and was confirmed as a judge of high court on Mar 13, 2014.
If appointed as regular chief justice, Justice Hilali will be second female judge to serve on that post in any of the high court as earlier Justice Syeda Tahira Safdar was appointed as Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court in 2018.