Sheikh Anwarul Haq

The Honourable Sheikh Anwarul Haq شیخ انوار الحق
Chief Justice Sheikh Anwarul Haq (1917–1995)
Chief Justice of Pakistan
In office 23 September 1977 – 25 March 1981
Nominated by	Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Appointed by	Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
Preceded by	Yaqub Ali
Succeeded by	Mohammad Haleem
Acting President of Pakistan
In office 20 April 1978 – 7 May 1978
Preceded by	Fazlul Qadir Chaudhry (29 November 1963–12 June 1965)
Succeeded by	Wasim Sajjad (18 July 1993–14 November 1993)
Senior Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
In office 16 October 1972 – 23 September 1977
Nominated by	Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Personal details
Born	Sheikh Anwarul Haq (1917-05-11)11 May 1917 Jullundur, British Indian Empire (now India)
Died	3 March 1995(1995-03-03) (aged 77) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Citizenship	British subject (1917–1947)  Pakistan (1947-1995)
Alma mater	Kanpur University Punjab University
Profession	Jurist

Chief Justice Sheikh Anwarul Haq (Urdu: شیخ انوار الحق‎‎ ; 11 May 1917 – 3 March 1995), was a Pakistani jurist and an academic who served as the Chief Justice of Pakistan from 23 September 1977 until 25 March 1981.

Educated as an economist at the Kanpur University and the Punjab University in Lahore, he served as a civil servant of the Indian Civil Service before joining the British Indian judicature in 1944. After opting for Pakistan in 1947 as result of partition of British India, he served as civil servant on various assignment of Pakistan government, and subsequently elevated as judge in Lahore High Court in 1957. In 1970, he was appointed as Senior Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and earned public notability when he co-chaired the War Enquiry Commission with Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman in 1972.

He is noted in country's political history for legitimizing the martial law upheld by chief of army staff General Zia-ul-Haq to restore law and order, in the light of doctrine of necessity.^[1] In addition, he also heard the case of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and controversially upheld the capital sentence by the Lahore High Court for authorizing the murder of a political opponent.^[2] In 1981, Haq notably refused to taken an oath under the imposed PCO, resigning on conscientious grounds.^[3]

Biography

Sheikh Anwarul Haq was born in Jullunder, Punjab, British India on 11 May 1917, to a Punjabi family.^[4] S. Anwarul Haq earned early education from Jullunder and Wazirabad, passing his matriculation from Jullunder in 1932.^:259[4] He stood first in matriculation that earned him a scholarship to attend the DAV College of Kanpur University in 1932.^:259[4] In 1936, he earned BA in Economics and Political science and went on to attend the Islamia College of Punjab University, where he earned a MA in Economics in 1938.^[5] He ranked first in MA in Economics examination at the Punjab University, setting a new record in that subject.^:54[4]

During his time at the Punjab University, Haq participated in a large number of declamation contests and prize debates and was often judged as the best speaker.^:55[4] From 1936–38, he was an activist of All-India Muslim League and was a student advocate of the assertion of the separate identity of Indian Muslims.^:53–54[4] He attended the All-India Muslim League meeting in Calcutta in December 1937 as a student delegate.^:54[4]

In 1939, he was selected and joined the Indian Civil Service and went to United Kingdom to be educated in Oxford.^:53–54[4] Upon returning in 1940, he was appointed Assistant Commissioner at Ferozepur and later appointed as Undersecretary of Punjab and the North-West Frontier from 1942 until 1944.^:214[6] In 1944, he was appointed as Sub Divisional Magistrate at the Dalhousie, India and heard various cases involving the civil lawsuits.^[7] During the same time, he sent to Gurdaspur and its was appointed as Deputy Commissioner and later elevated as Session Judge as well as Assistant Commissioner in 1946.^[8] For a short brief of time, he served as the deputy commissioner of Hissar (in East Punjab), before joining the Cabinet Mission to be served as its Secretary to the Partition Steering Committee for the Punjab in 1946.^[8]

Haq attended the Third Commonwealth and Empire Law Conference in Sydney, Australia in August–September 1965 as leader of the Pakistan delegation. He was interested in academic and educational activities and had been a member of the Syndicates of:

• Punjab University
• University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore
• Agricultural University of Lyallpur (now Faisalabad)
• Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad

Haq was President of the Himayat-i-Islam Law College, Lahore, and member of the University Law College, Lahore committee for several years. He was acting Vice-Chancellor of Punjab University on multiple occasions. He was appointed as a member of the 1971 War Inquiry Commission from January 1972 to November 1974 along with CJ Hamoodur Rahman. He was also appointed as Chairman of the National Pay Commission and Armed Forces Pay Commission in January 1976. He represented the Pakistan Supreme Court at the centenary celebrations of the Supreme Court of Ghana at Accra in October 1976. He was appointed Chairman of the Commission on the Indus River System in September 1977. He was appointed Chairman of the Civil Services Commission in February 1978. He had been President of the British Universities Alumni Association, Lahore since 1962. He was a guest speaker at a large number of social, intellectual, and cultural functions in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Karachi.

See also

• Chief Justice of Pakistan
• Chief Justices of Pakistan
• Supreme Court of Pakistan
• List of Pakistanis

References

Chief Justices of Pakistan
Abdul Rashid Muhammad Munir Muhammad Shahabuddin A.R. Cornelius S. A. Rahman Fazal Akbar Hamoodur Rahman Yaqub Ali Sheikh Anwarul Haq Mohammad Haleem Afzal Zullah Nasim Hasan Shah Saad Saud Jan Syed Sajjad Ali Shah Ajmal Mian Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui Irshad Hasan Khan Bashir Jehangiri Sheikh Riaz Ahmad Nazim Hussain Siddiqui Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (1st) Javaid Iqbal Rana Bhagwandas Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (2nd) Abdul Hameed Dogar De facto; stripped Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (3rd) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani Nasir-ul-Mulk Jawwad S. Khawaja Anwar Zaheer Jamali
Italics indicate acting officeholders