Justice Aalia Neelum becomes first woman chief justice of LHC

For the first time in history, a woman judge – Justice Aalia Neelum – has been appointed chief justice of the Lahore High Court.

The Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) unanimously approved her name in a meeting chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa. The council also considered the names of Justice Shujaat Ali Khan and Justice Baqar Najafi for this post.

She would replace Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan who has been elevated to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Justice Neelum, who was third on the seniority list of the high court, was born in 1966. She earned her law degree from the Punjab University Law College in 1995 and holds several other legal diplomas.

She began her legal career in 1996 as a registered lawyer and was admitted to the high court in 1998 and the Supreme Court in 2008. She practiced in various fields, including constitutional, civil, criminal, and anti-terrorism law.

In 2013, Justice Neelum was appointed an ad-hoc judge of the Lahore High Court and became a permanent judge in 2015. She also established standard operating procedures (SOPs) for recording evidence via video link.