Nasir Aslam Zahid

The Honourable Justice (R) Nasir Aslam Zahid (Urdu:ناصر اسلم زاہد); Barrister-at-Law, is a Pakistani judge who served as the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court and then a judge of the Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan and Supreme Court of Pakistan.[1]

Nasir Aslam Zahid
ناصر اسلم زاہد
Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court
In office
23 May 1992  15 April 1994
Preceded bySaeeduzzaman Siddiqui
Succeeded byAbdul Hafeez Memon (Acting)
Personal details
Born (1934-02-03) 3 February 1934
Mussoorie, British India
(now in Uttarakhand, India)
Alma materGovernment College University, Lahore
Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge
Inns of Court School of Law
Supreme Court of Pakistan

He gained more honour and respect when he resigned from the Supreme Court of Pakistan instead of taking oath of office according to General Pervez Musharraf's Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO).[2]

Early life

Nasir Aslam Zahid was born in Mussoorie, near Delhi, British India. His father, Sir Zahid Hussain was a finance officer, and had also served as chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University. Later in Pakistan, his father was the first governor of the State Bank of Pakistan.[2]

Education

Nasir Aslam Zahid matriculated from Saint Patrick's High School, Karachi, did his BA degree at Government College Lahore and went on to University of Cambridge to study law and received a Bachelor's degree there. In 1956, he was called to the Bar from the Middle Temple.[2][3]

Career

In 1957, Barrister Zahid enrolled as an advocate of the Sindh High Court, and of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1962. He was then promoted to the Bench of the Sindh High Court as an Additional Judge in 1980, and in 1983 was made a permanent judge of the Sindh High Court. The Pakistan Peoples Party government temporarily removed him from the Bench in 1988 to send him off on deputation as the federal law secretary, a post he held until June 1990 when he returned to the Sindh High Court.[2] From January 1991 to the end of April of that year, he moved to the Supreme Court as an ad hoc Judge. He had several spells as 'acting Chief Justice of Sindh', during the absence of the sitting Chief Justice, and in May 1992 took over as permanent Chief Justice.[1]

By 1994, Justice Zahid's independence could be tolerated no more by the harsh law enforcement agencies, backed by the executive wing of the government. Zahid granted no concessions to the agencies or the government prosecuting authorities. He was transferred to the Federal Shariat Court on 16 April 1994, without his consent, for a period of two years. Later he was elevated as a permanent judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. However, he continued his contributions towards the dispensing of justice to the people of Pakistan until the year 2000, and then resigned from the Supreme Court of Pakistan instead of taking oath of the office according to General. Pervez Musharraf's Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO), which would have required the judges never to find illegality in the new government, no matter what actions the government took.[1]

Contributions and social activities

He is involved in human rights issues and judicial education, and has spent much of his time since his retirement on dealing with women’s legal concerns.[4] He has been serving as Dean, Faculty of Legal Studies and Head of Hamdard School of Law at the Hamdard University, Karachi since October 2000.[1]

Justice Zahid collaborated with the Government of Sindh, Pakistan for the establishment of a 'Committee for the Welfare of Women Prisoners' at the Special Prison for Women at Karachi. However, in 2009, the work was expended to include Juveniles and Male Prisoners of all 22 prisons of Sindh.[1]

In November 2006, former Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid and Naib Nazim, City of Karachi, Nasreen Jalil announced plans to provide full legal assistance to women victims of domestic violence.[4]

In November 2001, Governor, State Bank of Pakistan Ishrat Hussain along with Nasir Aslam Zahid announced plans to set up an annual award in memory of Nasir Aslam Zahid's father Zahid Hussain. This award would be given to deserving students and State Bank of Pakistan employees on merit basis. The family of Zahid Hussain and State Bank of Pakistan would provide funds for this annual award.[5]

See also

References

  1. "Nasir Aslam Zahid: One of The Prestigious Names of Judiciary, Sindh". Sindhi Dunya website. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  2. Faizan Dawood (15 March 2013). "Profiles of caretaker Prime Minister nominees (includes Nasir Aslam Zahid profile)". The Express Tribune (newspaper). Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  3. Maheen Irfan Ghani (October 2012). "Interview: Justice (R) Nasir Aslam Zahid". Newsline (magazine). Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  4. KARACHI: Legal aid for distressed women pledged Dawn (newspaper), Published 5 November 2006, Retrieved 9 July 2018
  5. State Bank of Pakistan to set up Zahid Hussain chair: Higher studies Dawn (newspaper), Published 9 November 2001, Retrieved 9 July 2018
Legal offices
Preceded by
Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui
Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court
1992–1994
Succeeded by
Abdul Hafeez Memon
Acting
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