Iqbal Haider (; 14 January 1945 – 11 November 2012) was a Senior Advocate of the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan (; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance witPart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it h ...

and the co-chairperson of the

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP; ) is an independent, democratic non-profit organisation. Founded in 1987, it is one of the oldest human rights organisations in the country. HRCP is committed to monitoring, protecting and prom ...

("HRCP"). He was also a

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

, Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs from November 1993 to December 1994, Pakistan's first Federal Minister for Human Rights and

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Life and education

Haider was born on 14 January 1945 in

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

in pre-partition India (during the

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

). He migrated to Pakistan with his family and got his early education 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 ...

. He earned a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Commerce from the Government College of Commerce & Economics, Karachi in 1964, and 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 ...

from the

Punjab University Law College Punjab University Law College (PULC) is a public sector law school of University of the Punjab, Canal Road (Quaid e Azam) Campus, Lahore. It is the oldest law institute in Pakistan which was established in 1868, 14 years before Punjab Universi ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

in 1966, where he was Secretary of the Debating Society, Vice-chairman of the Cultural Society of the Punjab University Students Union. He also worked for the "Al-Meezan" magazine of PULC and was a member of Law College's debating society. In 1967, Haider was admitted to the

Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England ...

, where he became the vice-president of the Students Union of Lincoln's Inn. Haider died peacefully due to Coronary respiratory failure on 11 November 2012 in a

hospital.

Professional career

Haider was first enrolled as an advocate for the subordinate courts in June 1967. He has practiced law in different courts of the country, including the High Courts, since 1972, and in the

since 1978. He has been member of the Executive Board/Committees of a number of organisations, including Pakistan Institute of International Affairs and the Sindh Red Crescent Society, and a Trustee of the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Sports Foundation. He was also a member of the Bar Associations of the Sindh and Lahore High Courts.

Political career

Haider has, since early in his career, been an outspoken critic of the involvement of the Army in the political affairs of Pakistan. He was a founding member of the

Movement for Restoration of Democracy The Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD; ) was a political alliance in Pakistan founded in 1981 by the political parties opposing the military government of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the sixth president of Pakistan. Headed by Benazir Bhut ...

("MRD") and one of the main organizers of its Mass Movement, launched in 1983, for removal of Martial Law and Restoration of Democracy. He was the Central Acting Convener, Acting Central Secretary General and Acting Joint Secretary of the MRD. From 1981 to 1986, he was detained at least ten times by the Martial Law authorities. Haider was President of the Karachi Division of Qaumi Mahaz-e-Azadi (QMA) from 1977 to 1982, and Secretary General of QMA from 1983 to 1988. Haider later joined 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 ...

(PPP), where he was appointed the Advisor to the Chief Minister Sindh from January 1989 to February 1990. He was the President of the PPP Karachi Division, vice-president of PPP Sindh, and member of the Central Executive Committee of the PPP. On 22 March 2005, Haider resigned from the PPP to pursue his human rights interests.

Human rights

Haider's passion was

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

. He has done work for victims of

honour killing An honor killing (American English), ''honour killing'' (Commonwealth English), or ''shame killing'' is a type of murder in which a person, usually a woman or girl, is killed by or at the behest of male members of their family or their male ...

(e.g.

Samia Sarwar Samia Sarwar (1970 – 6 April 1999) was a Pakistani woman who was shot dead in her lawyers' office in Lahore in an honour killing arranged by her parents. Sarwar was a married woman with two children, belonging to an affluent family of Peshawar. ...

), karo-kari,

bonded labour Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, or whe ...

, and

missing persons A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, o ...

, amongst others. He founded the Human Rights Ministry during the second tenure of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto and became the first Human Rights minister of Pakistan. He sat in the Senate Committee on Human Rights, was one of the founding members of the HRCP, and continued to pursue human rights causes in Pakistan. He drafted and tabled the first ever bill on Honour Killing. His more recent activities included launching a strong campaign against the government and

Inter-Services Intelligence The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is the premier Pakistani Intelligence community, intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant t ...

(ISI) in relation to missing persons and formation of 'The Forum for Secular Pakistan' to counter the narrative of religious and sectarian hate and violence.

References

Sources

*http://www.hrcp-web.org/new_chairperson.cfm *http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_21-3-2005_pg7_5 *http://www.senate.gov.pk/ShowMemberDetail.asp?MemberCode=319&CatCode=0&CatName= *https://web.archive.org/web/20060306041610/http://www.dawn.com/2005/03/22/local19.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Haider, Syed Iqbal Pakistan People's Party politicians 1945 births Muhajir people Pakistani democracy activists Pakistani human rights activists Punjab University Law College alumni 2012 deaths Members of the Senate of Pakistan Deaths from respiratory failure Lawyers from Karachi People from Aligarh Politicians from Agra Indian emigrants to Pakistan