The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) has unanimously recommended the name of Justice Mussarat Hilali for appointment as the Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC).

JCP has sent its recommendation to the parliamentary committee for approval. The commission unanimously recommended the appointment of Justice Hilali during a meeting with Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial.

Upon the retirement of PHC Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan, on March 30, the most senior judge of the court, Justice Noorul Amin Khan was appointed as the acting CJ. But his stint lasted only a day.

After Justice Khan’s retirement on March 31, a day after he took over as the acting CJ, Justice Hilali was appointed as the first woman acting chief justice of the PHC.

Born in Peshawar on August 08, 1961, Justice Hilali received a degree in law 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.

She was also the first female Additional Advocate General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from November 2001 to March 2004.

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.