No law against senior women judges, Senate told

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  • Law minister says constitutional amendments required to ensure women’s representation in top positions

ISLAMABAD: There is no bar on the appointment of women judges in the Supreme Court or high courts, Prime Minister’s Advisor on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan said on Tuesday.

Answering a question by Senator Samina Saeed in Senate during the question hour, he said no female judge was working in the Supreme Court of Pakistan currently. There is no specific quota reserved for female judges in Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Minister for Law and Justice Dr Farogh Naseem said constitutional amendments were required to ensure representation of women in the judiciary’s top positions. Appointments in judiciary should be made on merit without caring about gender, Naseem said.

The minister said there are six female judges in various high courts, including Justice Ayesha A Malik (Lahore High Court); Justice Aalia Neelam (Lahore High Court); Justice Ashraf Jehan (Sindh High Court); Justice Kausar Sultana Hussain (Sindh High Court); Justice Musarrat Hilali (Peshawar High Court); Justice Syeda Tahira Safdar, chief justice of the Balochistan High Court.