President Arif Alvi approved the appointment of Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail as the new Balochistan High Court (BHC) chief justice, a notification issued by the law ministry said on Thursday.

Justice Mandokhail, who is the senior puisne judge, will assume charge as BHC chief justice on October 5. He will replace incumbent BHC Chief Justice Tahira Safdar — the first female chief justice of any high court in Pakistan — who was sworn in last year and will complete her term on October 4.

Justice Mandokhail was born in Quetta on November 12, 1961, and is the son of a businessman. He received his early education from Federal Government High School, Quetta Cantonment. He did his Masters in Political Science and Economics from the University of Balochistan.

He completed his law degree in 1987 from the University Law College Quetta and was enrolled as an advocate in 1988. He was appointed as an advocate of the high court on May 31, 1990 and of the Supreme Court on May 12, 2001. He also became a lifetime member of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

A notification, issued in 2009 and confirmed in 2011, elevated him as the senior puisne judge of the BHC. He swore oath as acting chief justice four times — in June 2011, March 2013, June 2013 and December 2013.

Another notification issued by the Law Ministry on Thursday announced that the president had also approved the appointment of Justice Fida Muhammad Khan as the aalim judge of the Federal Shariat Court for one year from the date he swears his oath on. It was not mentioned when he would start his term.