President Arif Alvi approved the appointment of Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhel as the new Balochistan High Court (BHC) chief justice (CJ), a notification issued by the Law Ministry said on Thursday. Mandokhel, who is the senior puisne judge, will assume charge as BHC chief justice on October 5. He will replace present BHC CJ Tahira Safdar – the first female CJ of any high court in Pakistan – who was sworn in last year and will complete her term on October 4. Justice Mandokhel 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. He did his Masters in Political Science and Economics from the University of Balochistan. Mandokhel 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 Mandokhel as the senior puisne judge of the BHC.