At a ceremony conducted at the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor House, Justice Musarrat Hilali was sworn in as the first female chief justice of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), a position she will hold until the judicial commission names a permanent top judge.

KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali welcomed Judge Hilali and sent her his best wishes after administering her oath.

She will hold the position until the Judicial Commission of Pakistan appoints a permanent chief justice. She is a senior puisne judge of the court. On Thursday, Chief Judge of the PHC Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan stepped down. The senior puisne (senior most after the chief justice), who is often a judge, fills the position until a chief justice is nominated by the judicial commission.

Justice Hilali would become just the second woman to hold that position in a high court, following Justice Syeda Tahira Safdar's appointment as chief justice of the Balochistan High Court in 2018.

PHC judges, attorneys, KP police chief Akhtar Hayat Khan, KP law secretary Masood Ahmad, special assistant to caretaker chief minister Pir Haroon Shah, and other caretaker cabinet members were among the key judicial and government officials present at the event.