QUETTA: Justice Syeda Tahira Safdar has earned the honour of being the first woman chief justice of any high court in the judicial history of the country as she was sworn in as the 18th chief justice of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Saturday.

In July, Chief justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had appointed Tahira Safdar chief justice of the high court since she was the senior-most judge of the BHC after Justice Muhammad Noor Meskanzai, who retired a day earlier (Aug 31) after serving for three years and eight months as the CJ of the BHC.

Governor of Balochistan Muhammad Khan Achakzai administrated the oath to Justice Tahira Safdar at a ceremony held in Governor House, which was attended by Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani, former chief justice Meskanzai, BHC judges and lawyers, besides government officials.

In the past, Justice Tahira Safdar became the first woman to be appointed civil judge in Quetta.

Chief Justice Tahira Safdar was born in Quetta in October 1957. She is the daughter of one of the leading lawyers of the city, Syed Imtiaz Hussain Hanfi Baqri, who was also a central leader of the defunct Awami National Party. One of her brothers is also associated with the legal profession.

After completing her initial education from the Cantt Public School, Justice Tahira Safdar acquired her Master’s degree in Urdu literature from the Balochistan University and LLB degree from the Law College Quetta.

She launched her career as a civil judge after clearing the examinations of the Balochistan Public Service Commission in April 1982. She was promoted as district and sessions judge in March 1996.

Later in September 2009, she was appointed additional judge of the BHC while getting confirmation as a permanent judge on May 11, 2011, besides serving as chairperson of Balochistan Service Tribunal.

As a judge of the BHC, she heard 157 petitions and was also a part of the three-member bench conducting the trial of former president Gen Pervez Musharraf for committing treason by imposing emergency in the country in November 2009.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2018