The Judicial Commission of Pakistan on Thursday approved the elevation of Lahore High Court Justice Ayesha A. Malik to the Supreme Court, which will make her the country’s first-ever woman judge to sit on the apex court.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed chaired the JCP meeting during which Justice Malik’s elevation was approved by a majority of five votes against four.
This is the second time that the JCP held a meeting to decide on Justice Malik’s elevation. A lack of consensus during an extended meeting of the JCP on Sept 9 last year had forced the commission to reject her elevation.
During that meeting, four members of the eight-member JCP had opposed the proposal to elevate Justice Malik – the fourth most senior judge of the LHC – while an equal number had supported it.