Sharifuddin Pirzada

Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada Nishan-e-Imtiaz
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 31 August 1966 – 1 May 1968
President	Ayub Khan
Preceded by	Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Succeeded by	Mian Arshad Hussain
Attorney General of Pakistan
In office 1968–1971
Preceded by	Post established
Succeeded by	Yahya Bakhtiar
Attorney General of Pakistan
In office 1977–1984
Preceded by	Yahya Bakhtiar
Succeeded by	Aziz Munshi
Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation
In office 1985–1988
Preceded by	Habib Chatty
Succeeded by	Hamid Algabid
Personal details
Born	(1923-06-12)12 June 1923 Burhanpur, British Raj (now India)
Died	2 June 2017(2017-06-02) (aged 93) Karachi, Pakistan
Political party	All-India Muslim League (Before 1947) Muslim League (1947–1958)
Alma mater	University of Mumbai Inns of Court School of Law

Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada ( شریف الدین پیرزادہ سيد ) NI (12 June 1923 – 2 June 2017) was a noted Pakistani lawyer who served as a senior advocate at the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Pirzada was the prime advisor to General Pervez Musharraf against maintaining the status quo regarding the 1973 constitutional oath given to the judges prior to the general's coup d'état. He advised Musharraf who then later included Aziz Munshi as a law minister to seek the consent of the Chief Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui for the legitimacy of his rule. Siddiqui was called upon by Musharraf earlier in October and it was made clear that the oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order shall not be administered to any judge of the court. Musharraf had agreed, later when asked by Mr. Munshi, Siddiqui refused and rejected the notion that judges of the courts be administered any other oath and that to contrary to the ones under the 1973 constitution. Later Siddiqui refused to take oath and resigned with 4 years remaining in office.

He was a highly-controversial figure amongst political and judicial circles in Pakistan due to his regular legal work in ensuring the legitimacy of Pakistani military rulers, as well as offering his services to a wide variety of entities seeking on ensuring the status quo in the country. For such reasons, he is regarded as a maverick lawyer with no firm stance on political matters. In addition, he is a member of the Pakistan Civil Service, having served as both Foreign Minister under Ayub Khan and the Attorney-General under Zia-ul-Haq.

Personal life

Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada was born in the city of Burhanpur, in what is today Madhya Pradesh, to parents Mir Niazi Pirzada and his wife, Fatima. His father was a noted barrister as well, serving in the Indian Civil Service at the time and posted in the state.

He died on 2 June 2017, aged 93.

Career

Senior posts with the Government of Pakistan

• Attorney General of Pakistan from 1965–1966. The youngest person ever to be appointed to that post and the longest serving.
• Foreign Minister of Pakistan from 1966–1968.
• 1st Chairman Executive Committee (CEC) of the Pakistan Bar Council.
• Represented Pakistan in the Commonwealth Head of Government Conference in 1966.
• Moved Resolution 2253 of the United Nations General Assembly on the “status of Jerusalem” in 1967.
• Attorney General of Pakistan from 1968–1971.
• Represented Pakistan in the Commonwealth Law Ministers and Attorney Generals Conference 1971.
• President Afro-Asian Legal Consultative Committee, 1969.
• Attorney general for Pakistan from 1977–1984.

Association with the Organisation of Islamic Conference

• Chairman of the Experts' Group for drafting the statue of the Islamic International Court of Justice.
• Served (elected unanimously) as Secretary General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference 1985–1988. (This is the highest post that any Pakistani has served in at any international organization)
• Member of Committee of Eminent Jurists to review the OIC Charter 2007.

Represented Pakistan before various international forums and tribunals including

• Rann of Kutch Case 1965.
• Counsel in the reference regarding Namibia (before the International Court of Justice) 1970.
• Pakistan’s complaint against India in the matter of overflights at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) 1971.

Association with the United Nations

• Member United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, 1972–1979 (Served as Chairman from 1977–1978).
• Chairman, Investigation and Working Group of Complaints of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, 1978–1979.
• Leader of the Pakistani delegation to the Law of Sea Conference 1978–1980.
• Elected (by the UN General Assembly) to the International Law Commission, 1981–1986.
• Leader of Pakistani Delegation to the UN Human Rights Commission, 1995.

Awards

• Awarded Nishan-i-Imtiaz in 1998

Publications

• Pakistan at a Glance, Bombay 1941.
• Jinnah on Pakistan, Bombay 1943.
• Leaders Correspondence with Jinnah.
• Evolution of Pakistan, Karachi 1962 (also published in Urdu and Arabic).
• Fundamental Rights and Constitutional Remedies in Pakistan, Lahore 1966.
• The Pakistan Resolution and the historic Lahore Session. Islamabad 1970.
• Foundation of Pakistan (3 volumes), 1971.
• Some Aspects of Quaid-i-Azam’s Life 1978.
• Collected Works of Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah (3 volumes).
• Dissolution of Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, Karachi 1985.

External links

• http://www.pirzada.com
• BBC Hardtalk interview of Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada