Yousaf Saleem taking oath for the post of civil judge. Photo: Geo News screengrab

LAHORE: Yousaf Saleem, the visually impaired lawyer, became Pakistan’s first blind judge as he took oath on Tuesday.

Saleem, who hails from Lahore, was first denied the position despite being a topper but was reconsidered and recommended for the position of civil judge after intervention by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar last month.

The visually impaired lawyer was among 21 civil judges who took oath for the post today.

Addressing the oath-taking ceremony, Lahore High Court chief justice Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali said, “Civil judges should fulfill their duties responsibly.”

“Justice should be provided within the legal framework and without the fear of anyone,” Justice Yawar further said.

CJP’s recommendation

Saleem worked as an assistant director (legal) in a department of the Punjab Government and was among 21 of 300 candidates who passed the written test for the civil judge position.

However, his disability got in the way and he could only make it to the interview stage before being denied the position.

The chief justice of Pakistan had directed the chief justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC) to review the case saying, that a person could be a judge even if he is blind, provided he meets all other qualifications.

“It appears in this case, his fundamental rights under Articles 9, 14 and 25 of the Constitution, the provisions of the 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 the jurisprudence developed by the Lahore High Court in PLD 2017 Lahore 406 and PLD 2017 Lahore 1 were not considered by the Lahore High Court,” the SC press release read.

On May 12, Saleem received a letter from the LHC stating, “You are hereby informed that the Hon’ble Examination Committee for Recruitment of District Judiciary and Lahore High Court Establishment has recommended you for appointment as Civil Judge-cum-Magistrate.”

Saleem who is the son of a charted accountant is blind by birth, has four sisters and two of them are also blind.

One of his sisters, Saima Saleem, is the first blind person to pass her civil service exam in 2007 and currently works in the Prime Minister Secretariat as a deputy secretary while his other sister is a lecturer in a university in Lahore.