Farooq Hamid Naek (; born 1 July 1947) also spelled Farooq H. Naik, is a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

politician and lawyer, who served as the Chairman Senate, Minister of Law as well as headed the

Ministry of Justice (Pakistan) The Ministry of Justice (); abbreviated as MoJ) is a cabinet-level ministry of Pakistan, responsible for the enforcement of law and administration of justice. The ministry's political executive figure is known as the Minister for Law, Justi ...

in the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

led by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Yusuf Raza Gillani Yusuf Raza Gilani (born 9 June 1952) is a Pakistani politician who served as the 16th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 2008 to 2012. He is currently serving as the Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan since 2024. Chairma ...

. After successfully contesting the 2008 general elections, Naek won the bid for the law ministry, but ascended to

Chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in 2009. Due to cabinet reshuffle by Gillani in 2012, he was again appointed law minister of the country. He is a high-ranking member of the central committee of the

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

, and has been a personal lawyer and legal counselor in the

legal cases Precedent is a judicial decision that serves as an authority for courts when deciding subsequent identical or similar cases. Fundamental to common law legal systems, precedent operates under the principle of ''stare decisis'' ("to stand by thin ...

leveled up against

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

and her spouse

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the ...

since 1996.

Legal career

Naek was brought up in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. After graduating from high school, he was accepted at the

Sindh Muslim Law College The Sindh Muslim Government Law College (Urdu: سنده مسلم گورنمنٹس لا کالج) or S. M. Law College (Urdu: ایس ایم لاء کالج) is one of the oldest law schools of Pakistan, situated in Karachi, Sindh. The college has ...

, where he earned an

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in law. Later, he went on to attend the post-graduate school of the

University of Karachi The University of Karachi (; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (which is ...

where he earned an MA in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

. His political career began in 1971, when he served as Assistant Director at the Directorate of Labour and Social Welfare of the provincial

Government of Sindh The Government of Sindh () () is the provincial government of the province of Sindh, Pakistan. Its powers and structure are set out in the provisions of the 1973 Constitution, in which 30 Districts of 7 Divisions under its authority and ju ...

. He then was a Civil Judge and First Class Magistrate from 1971 to 1975. He was elected General Secretary of Karachi Bar Association during mid-1985-90. He also served as Deputy

Attorney General of Pakistan Attorney-General for Pakistan is the chief law officer and legal advisor of the Government of Pakistan and enjoys rights of audience before Parliament. The Attorney-General, who serves as Pakistan's public prosecutor, is recommended by the Prime M ...

from 1994 to 1996 in the second

government. Naek enrolled as Advocate of local court in 1970, advocate of high court in 1976, and of

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in 1990. He resigned from the judicial service after serving as civil judge for two years and became an active member of the PPP in the mid-1970s."Why Naek was named Senate chief"
''The News'', 10 March 2009 Naek was arrested in 1995, after leading a demonstration against the dictatorial rule of General Zia Ul Haq. He was held in Central Prison, Karachi, for about six months along with 10 other lawyers. Although Naek was associated with the PPP for three decades, he only shot to prominence when he fought the corruption and criminal cases against

and

during

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

's rule in and out of Pakistan. It was during these extremely difficult years of Zardari that Naek earned his trust. Before and after becoming the President of Pakistan, Zardari always consulted him on legal matters and other issues. Naek contested the 2016 Supreme Court Bar Association elections for President, against Rasheed A. Razvi. Naek however lost the election by a large margin.

Political career

Naek has been the senator from Sindh since 2003. He was appointed the Federal Minister for Law and Justice as a result of the

2008 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 18 February 2008 to elect members of the 13th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. On 3 November 2007 President Pervez Musharraf enacted a state of emergency; elections were initia ...

. He was reappointed the Federal Minister for Law and Justice in April 2012 after his 3-year term as Chairman of Senate.

References

External links

Official Biography of Law minister Farooq H. NaikProfile of Senator Farooq Naek
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Naek, Farooq Chairmen of the Senate of Pakistan Law ministers of Pakistan Living people Pakistan People's Party politicians Pakistani lawyers University of Karachi alumni Politicians from Karachi Sindh Muslim Law College alumni 1947 births Pakistani senators (14th Parliament) Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent