The Parliamentary Committee on Judges Appointment has unanimously approved the nomination of Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Ayesha Malik as a judge of the Supreme Court.

Following the approval, Justice Malik is all set to become the first woman to serve as a judge in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

A meeting of the parliamentary panel on the appointment of jurists was held under the chairmanship of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Farooq H. Naek.

Senator Naek stated that Malik's name had been approved by consensus. "We are not abolishing the procedure of seniority," he said.

Earlier on January 6, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmad Khan had recommended the appointment of Lahore High Court (LHC) judge Justice Ayesha A. Malik as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

A meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) was chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Gulzar Ahmad. During the meeting the CJP s recommendation of appointing Justice Ayesha A. Malik as a judge of the Supreme Court was dispatched to the parliamentary committee.

CJ Gulzar, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, retired judge Sarmad Jalal Osmani, Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan and Law Minister Dr Farogh Naseem had endorsed her name for appointment as a Supreme Court judge, whereas Justice Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Maqbool Baqar, Justice Sardar Tariq Masood and PBC representative Akhtar Hussain had opposed her nomination.

The opposing four members had insisted that criteria should be evolved for the appointment of superior court judges first.

She will be the first female Supreme Court judge in the judicial history of Pakistan.