Ijaz Husain Batalvi

The Gate from Lincoln's Inn Fields

Batalvi completed his early education in his native village at Batala. He was the younger of six brothers and three sister and was first in his family to become Barrister. He was contemporary of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. After completing his Bar-at-Law, he joined the Chamber of Mr. Prit, one of the famous Law Firms of UK. On return from London in 1954, he joined the Law Firm of Barrister Manzur Qadir where he worked with Khushwant Singh, Barrister M. Anwar. He then started teaching at the University Law College where he taught law of Tort, law of Contract and Constitutional Law. In the morning he delivers lectures in the Law College; then he appears in the Lahore High Court and Supreme Court of Pakistan as a Barrister, and then continues to literary activities at the Pak Tea House in the evenings.[5]

Lahore High Court

He become popular after the Allama Mashraqi case he conducted. Then he appeared in Col. Gardezi case which taught in Birtish Law School as a precedent.[6] His colleague Barrister M. Anwar appointed Public Prosecutor in Bhutto murder trail[7] and all of sudden Barrister M.Anwar died and Batalvi forced to accept to become Prosecutor of his Badge mate Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto who lastly executed by General Zia ul Haq, a dictator who imposed Martial Law on July 5, 1977. He voluntarily appeared as a defense Lawyer for Nawaz Sharif[8] when an other Martial Law was imposed by the dictator by General Pervez Musharraf [9] in October 1999 and succeeded to safe him from execution resultantly Nawaz Sharif[10] family went to Saudi Arabia for Exile.[11]

Supreme Court of Pakistan

Ijaz Husain Batalvi meeting with Nasim Hassan Shah Chief Justice of Pakistan

Batalvi remained associated as a Law Professor for more than fifty years with University Law College, Punjab University and produced numbers of good lawyers, judges, Bureaucrats and political leaders as three time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was his student in Law College and he appeared for Nawaz Sharif to safe him from the tyranny of General Pervez Musharraf dictator. Naeem Bukhari, Aftab Gul, Asma Jahangir, Hina Jilani, Syed Mansoor Ali Shah are his students who are doing excellence in their fields. Once his old student disclosed that he in the high chill season of December and January takes shower with cold water in the morning to go to attend Batalvi's lecture in the Law College and soon after his lecture he returned back to hostel for sleep and did not attend the class of any other teacher.[12]

Ijaz Husain Batalvi with Agha Shahi Foreign Minister of Pakistan

He earned the name of story-teller rather as a writer although his poetry and fiction's stories published in famous digests and magazine, however his son Sulman Batalvi with the help of Intizar Hussain and Amjad Islam Amjad managed to publish his book " Ijaz-e-Bian by Sang-e-Meel Publications.[13][14] He was friend of Zia Mohyeddin, Sofi Tabbassum, Patras Bokhari, Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

Lincolns Inn London

He was committed to his passion of Lawyer as Chief Justice Lahore High Court expressed his desire to elevate Batalvi as a Judge of Lahore High Court, similarly different Governments and its leaders offered him to become their Attorney General for Pakistan, Law Minister, Senator, Ambassador to UK but every time he smilingly declined to accept their offer while saying he is much happy and satisfied with his law practice.[15][16]