LAHORE: Yousaf Saleem, the country’s first visually impaired civil judge, on Tuesday took oath of his office along with 20 other recently appointed judicial officers in Punjab.
In a ceremony held at the Punjab Judicial Academy, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali administered the oath to the civil judges.
Sardar Umar Hassan Khan, Saba Qamar, Naseem Akhtar Naz, Maira Hassan, Qamar Abbas, Ehsan Nawaz, Muhammad Bilal, Muhammad Amir Sultan Kolachi, Muhammad Abbas, Sumaira Jabbar, Ali Raza, Muhammad Bilal Khan, Muhammad Tariq, Rasheed Khan, Obaid Hassan, Sana Afzal, Mansoor Ahmad, Allah Nawaz, Muhammad Zubair Sabir, Muhammad Javed Iqbal and Shaheen Noor were among the other civil judges who took oath.
Speaking at the occasion, the chief justice said that rendering justice was a sacred profession and urged the judges to deliver justice without fear and favour.
Lahore-based Saleem was initially denied the position of civil judge due to his physical disability despite being a topper in the examination.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had taken notice of the matter and directed the Lahore High Court to review the case observing that a visually impaired person could become a judge provided he met other requirements.