QUETTA: Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail was sworn in as the chief justice of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) in a simple but impressive ceremony held at Governor House on Saturday.

Balochistan Governor retired Justice Amanullah Khan Yasinzai administered the oath to Justice Mandokhail as the BHC’s 20th chief justice.

During his 21 years of practice at the bar, Justice Mandokhail conducted numerous constitutional, criminal, civil and service cases before the superior and subordinate judiciary. He remained on the panel of advocates for the National Bank of Pakistan and served as the additional deputy prosecutor general in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from 2000 to 2001 and in an honorary capacity as a lecturer in the University Law College, Quetta.

Justice Mandokhail actively participated in the bar’s politics and was elected unopposed as general secretary of the Balochistan High Court Bar Association and member of the executive committee of the Pakistan Services Bar Association. He was also elected as a member of the Supreme Court Bar Association’s Executive Committee. Subsequently, he was elected as a member of the Balochistan Bar Council; he thereafter became its vice chairman, chairman of its executive and disciplinary committees, and also a member of the disciplinary tribunal under the chairmanship of a judge of the high court.

As young lawyer, Justice Mandokhail played an active role in the 2007 lawyers’ movement.

On Sept 7, 2009, Justice Mandokhail was elevated as the senior puisne judge in the high court and was confirmed on May 11, 2011. He remained a member of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan and vice chairman of the Balochistan Judicial Academy.

Justice Mandokhail was born on Nov 12, 1961. He did his Matriculation from the Federal Government High School, Quetta Cantonment, and FSc from Government Science College, Quetta. He did masters in Political Science and Economics from the University of Balochistan.

He obtained his LL.B degree from the University Law College, Quetta, in 1987. He was enrolled as an advocate on June 1, 1988, as an advocate of the high court on May 31, 1990 and as an advocate of Supreme Court on May 12, 2001. He is a life member of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

BHC’s former chief justice Syeda Tahira Safdar, Federal Shariat Court Chief Justice Mohammad Noor Miskanzai, Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Ejaz-ul-Hassan, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Yahya Afridi, Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani, Balochistan Assembly Speaker Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo, provincial ministers Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetiran, Engineer Zamarak Khan Piralizai and Ziaullah Langove, former speaker Raheela Khan Durrani, BHC judges Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Justice Hashim Kakar, Justice Ejaz Khan Swati, Justice Kamran Mullahkhail, Justice Zaheeruddin Kakar, Justice Abdullah Baloch, Justice Nazeer Ahmed Langove, Justice Rozi Khan Barrech and Justice Abdul Hameed Baloch, senior lawyers and officials attended the oath-taking ceremony.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2019