Peshawar High Court


The Peshawar High Court is the provincial and highest judicial institution of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. It is located in the provincial capital Peshawar. The Parliament passed a bill extending the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Peshawar High Court to Federally Administered Tribal Areas, one of a handful of reforms paving the way for a merger of the tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

History

During the last days of the 19th century, the viceroy of India Lord Curzon, proposed the creation of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province which was approved by the Secretary of State for India, Lord George F. Hamilton, on 20 December 1900.
The province was formally founded on 9 November 1901, had to get one Judicial Commissioner. The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Law and Justice Regulation No. VII of 1901 was enacted by the Governor-General-in-Council, under section 3 of the Government of India Act, 1854, in order to establish judicial institutions.

Current formation

The Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 provides that Peshawar High Court shall have a Bench each at Abbottabad and Dera Ismail Khan. Article 199 of the Constitution lays down in detail the jurisdiction of the High Court. The jurisdiction was more or less the same as provided under the Constitution of 1956 and further detailed under the Constitution of 1962.
The Constitution of Pakistan, 1956, Article 170, states that:
"Notwithstanding anything contained in Article 22, each High Court shall have power throughout the territories in relation to which it exercise jurisdiction, to issue to any person or authority, including in appropriate cases any Government directions, orders or writs, including writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari, for the enforcement of any of the rights conferred by Part II and for any other purpose."

Justices of Peshawar High Court

High Court is headed by a Chief Justice. The bench consist of Justices and additional judges. The retirement age of Chief Justice and Justices is 62 years. The Additional Judges are initially appointed for one year. After that their services could either be extended or they could be confirmed or they are retired. The current Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court is Justice Syed Muhammad Attique Shah.

Current composition

The Peshawar High Court is currently made up of the following Justices.
No.NameAppointmentRetirementNote
1Syed Muhammad Attique Shah27 March 201711 October 2030Chief Justice since 14 February 2025
2Ijaz Anwar27 March 201714 January 2030Senior Pusine Judge since 15 April 2024
3Syed Arshad Ali16 June 20179 April 2033
4Sahibzada Asadullah19 August 201915 April 2034
5Naeem Anwar19 August 201914 June 2034
6Waqar [Ahmed Khan (judge)|Waqar Ahmed Khan]19 August 201919 March 2036
7Kamran Hayat Miankhel11 February 2022
8Muhammad Ijaz Khan11 February 202215 April 2034
9Muhammad Faheem Wali11 February 2022
10Dr. Khurshid Iqbal18 July 2022
11Muhammad Tariq Afridi4 February 2025
12Abdul Fayyaz4 February 2025
13Farah Jamshed4 February 2025Additional judge, subject to confirmation
14Inam Ullah Khan4 February 2025Additional judge, subject to confirmation
15Sabit Ullah Khan4 February 2025Additional judge, subject to confirmation
16Salah ud Din4 February 2025
17Sadiq Ali4 February 2025
18Syed Mudasser Ameer4 February 2025
19Aurangzeb4 February 2025Additional judge, subject to confirmation
20Qazi Jawad Ehsanullah4 February 2025
21Vacant
22Vacant
23Vacant
24Vacant
25Vacant
26Vacant
27Vacant
28Vacant
29Vacant
30Vacant

Provisional Constitutional Order 25 March 1981

  • Muhammad Daud Khan - Refused PCO
  • Karimullah Duranni - Refused PCO

Provisional Constitutional Order 26 January 2000

  • Javed NawazGandapur - Did not take oath under PCO
  • Muhammad Nawaz Khan - Did not take oath under PCO
  • Mian Muhammad Ajmal - Take oath under PCO was Chief Justice
  • Sardar Muhammad Raza - Take oath under PCO
  • Khalida Rasheed - Take oath under PCO
  • Mian Shakirullah Jan - Take oath under PCO
  • Nasir ul Mulk - Take oath under PCO
  • Abdul Rauf Laghmani - Take oath under PCO
  • Shahzad Akbar - Take oath under PCO
  • Talaat Qayum Qureshi - Take oath under PCO
  • Malik Hamid Saeed - Take oath under PCO
  • Shah Jehan Yousafzai - Take oath under PCO

Provisional Constitutional Order 3 November 2007

  • Tariq Parvez Khan - Didnt take Oath under PCO later elevated to the Supreme Court
  • Ijaz Afzal - Did not take oath under PCO later elevated to the Supreme Court
  • Dost Muhammad Khan - Didnt Take Oath under PCO
  • Shah Jehan Khan Yousafzai - Retired as Judge of High Court after superseded
  • Talaat Qayyum Qureshi - Take oath under PCO and become chief justice
  • Ijazul Hassan Khan - Elevated to the Supreme court
  • Muhammad Qaim Jan Khan - Elevated to the Supreme court
  • M. Salim Khan - Take oath under PCO
  • Muhammad Raza - Take oath under PCO
  • Jehan Zaib Rahim - Take oath under PCO
  • Raj Muhammad Khan Khattak - Take oath under PCO
  • Said Maroof Khan - Take oath under PCO
  • Hamid Farooq Durrani - Take oath under PCO
  • Syed Sajjad Hassan Shah - Take oath under PCO
  • Judges appointed after PCO
  • Shaji-ur-Rehman Khan Khattak
  • Ghulam Mohiuddin Malik
  • Syed Yahya Gilani
  • Ziauddin Khattak
  • Syed Musadiq Hussain Gilani

List of former chief justices of Peshawar High Court

List of former justices of Peshawar High Court

  • Bashir-ud-Din Ahmad Khan
  • Ghulam Safdar Shah
  • Sher Bahadur Khan
  • Shah Zaman Babar
  • Kareemullah Durrani
  • Abdul Hakim Khan
  • Shah Nawaz Khan
  • Mian Burhanuddin
  • S. Usman Ali Shah
  • Sardar Fakhre Alam
  • Ali Hussain Qazilbash
  • Fazal Ilahi Khan
  • Abdur Rehman Khan Kaif
  • Fazal Ellahi Khan
  • Abdul Karim Khan Kundi
  • Nazir Ahmad Bhatti
  • Muhammad Bashir Jehangiri
  • Qazi Hamiduddin
  • Salim Dil Khan
  • Khalida Rashid
  • Jawaid Nawaz Khan Gandapur
  • Shah Jehan Khan
  • Qazi Ehsanullah Qureshi
  • Malik Hamid Saeed
  • Talaat Qayyum Qureshi
  • Shahzad Akbar Khan
  • Ijazul Hassan Khan
  • Muhammad Qaim Jan Khan
  • Raj Muhammad Khan
  • Said Maroof Khan
  • Hamid Farooq Durrani
  • Khalid Mahmood
  • Attaullah Khan
  • Miftah-Ud-Din Khan
  • Assadullah Khan Chammkani
  • Irshad Qaiser
  • Muhammad Daud Khan
  • Nisar Hussain Khan
  • Muhammad Younas Thaheem
  • Qalandar Ali Khan
  • Muhammad Ghazanfar Khan
  • Muhammad Ayub Khan
  • Syed Afsar Shah
  • Ikramullah Khan
  • Nasir Mehfooz
  • Lal Jan Khattak
  • Rooh Ul Amin Khan