ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s judicial system is all set to make history by appointing Yousaf Saleem, a visually impaired lawyer as Pakistan’s first sightless judge.
Earlier, Saleem was denied the position despite the fact that he topped. The reconsideration of the position came after Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar interceded, recommending the visually impaired lawyer as a civil judge.
On May 12, Saleem received a notification letter from the LHC confirming his selection by the Hon’ble Examination Committee for Recruitment of District Judiciary. It also stated that the Lahore High Court Establishment had recommended Saleem for appointment as Civil Judge-cum-Magistrate.
The sightless lawyer was one of the 21 candidates out of 300 who passed the written test for the position of civil judge.
Although, he had been working as a assistant director in Punjab Government’s legal department, he was turned down from the consideration of being a civil judge due to his disability.
Previously, CJP had directed Lahore High Court (LHC) to review the matter, stating that a candidate, even if blind but meets all the requirements in his qualifications, can be appointed as a judge.
CJP in a press release said that “it appears in this case, his fundamental rights under Articles 9, 14 and 25 of the Constitution, the provisions of the United Nations (UN) Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by Pakistan, three percent quota under the disabled Persons (Employment and Rehabilitation) Ordinance 1981, and jurisprudence developed by the Lahore High Court in PLD 2017 Lahore 406 and PLD 2017 Lahore 1 were not considered by Lahore High court,”
