Lahore - Justice Muhammad Yawar Ali will be replaced by Justice Muhammad Anwaarul Haq as the chief justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC) after the former’s retirement today (Monday).
Justice Anwarul Haq will take oath as 47th LHC chief justice at a ceremony to be held at Governor House tomorrow (Tuesday). Justice Anwaarul Haq will remain the LHC chief justice till December 31, 2018. His tenure will spread over a span of 67 days.
Governor Ch Muhammad Sarwar will administer oath to the new LHC chief justice. Important personalities have been invited in the oath-taking ceremony. Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi, high court judges, provincial ministers, office bearers of the Pakistan Bar Council, Lahore High Court Bar Association and Lahore Bar Association, provincial and federal law officers will attend the ceremony.
Earlier Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had proposed Justice Anwaarul Haq as new LHC chief justice. A meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) was held to consider the appointment of new LHC CJ as well as confirmation of seven additional judges of the court. The present strength of judges at the LHC is 46 against the sanctioned strength of 60.
Justice Haq was born on January 1, 1957 in Jhelum. He passed MA and LLB examinations from the University of Punjab. He was enrolled as an advocate on November 11, 1981; as an advocate of High Court on December 11, 1983; and as an advocate of Supreme Court of Pakistan on March 27, 2003. He was elevated as Judge Lahore High Court on February 19, 2010.
He started his professional career from Lahore in 1980. After constitution of Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court, he was shifted to the LHC bench.
He remained unopposed member of Punjab Bar Council from 2004 to 2009. He remained Legal Advisor (Panel Advocate) District Council Jhelum, Habib Bank Limited, Allied Bank Limited, Wapda, Pakistan Post Office, Alliance Textile Mills, Municipal Committee Pind Dadan Khan, Pakistan Tele Communication Authority and U Mobile Phone Company.
He also served as special district government pleader and special district public prosecutor from 1986 to 1992.
He delivered part time lectures in Urdu Law College and Jinnah Law College, Jhelum. He joined Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and remained its national council member from 1992 to 1997. He is founder member of Democratic Commission for Human Development (DCHD) and founder member of Insan Dost Tanzeem (IDT), Jhelum. He carried out an extensive training on "Sustainable Development" in Nepal (1990) sponsored by South Asia Partnership. He remained non-official Visitor of Prisons appointed by the Government of Punjab, Home Department.
He wrote numerous articles/columns in Daily Dawn, Daily Nawa-i-Waqt and weekly Akhbar-e-Jehan during 1977 to 2010. He attended Hague Forum Training on International Criminal Law during 17-04-2012 to 27-04-2012 in Hague, Netherlands.
He remained inspection judge in Sargodha, Sialkot, Jhelum, Dera Ghazi Khan and Faisalabad districts. He remained administrative judge for securities of Lahore High Court and subordinate courts in Punjab. He has been incharge judge of Planning and Development Lahore High Court and member Syndicate King Edward Medical University, Lahore.
After the oath-taking, inspection judges will be posted. Justice Sardar Muhammad Shameem Khan is likely to be appointed as inspection judge of Lahore courts. He is currently serving as inspection judge of Multan courts. After approval from the chief justice, inspection judges will be appointed in 36 districts of Punjab province.
On the other side, Justice Yawar was enrolled as an advocate lower court in 1980; as an advocate High Court in 1980; and an advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan in 1986. He remained federal counsel for the Government of Pakistan, additional advocate general for the Government of the Punjab from 26-03-1995 to 01-08-1997 as well as deputy attorney general for Pakistan from 01-08-1997 to 07-06-2006 and again during 10-08-2007 to 11-02-2008.
He conducted several cases of public importance in the Supreme Appellate Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan, while representing various clients including WAPDA, PIA, Pakistan Railways, National Bank of Pakistan, Muslim Commercial Bank Limited and the Federal Government as its counsel.