UN chief hails Ayesha Malik’s elevation to Supreme Court

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday welcomed the elevation of Justice Ayesha Malik to the Supreme Court of Pakistan as the first female judge on the country’s highest court.

“I think this selection is a very welcome development,” the UN chief’s spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said in response to a question from APP correspondent at the regular noon briefing in New York.

Read more: Justice Ayesha Malik takes oath as ‘first woman judge’ of Supreme Court

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Gulzar Ahmed administered the oath to her at a ceremony in Islamabad.

Justice Ayesha studied in Pakistan and abroad, including Harvard Law School in the United States. She was an associate of former chief election commissioner and eminent jurist Justice Fakhruddin Ibrahim, and worked with him as an assistant for about four years, from 1997 to 2001.

The judge, 55, has also been a part of the law firm of which Justice Qazi Faez Isa is a founder.

Read more: Justice Ayesha Malik — A fiercely opposed judge

Justice Ayesha is an expert in constitutional, banking, tax and human rights issues.

According to the LHC website, she has taught banking and mercantile law in different universities of Pakistan. She has been called upon to specialise in cases of child custody, divorce, women’s rights and women’s constitutional protection in Pakistan, England and Australia.