Justice Mohammad Afzal Cheema (
Punjabi and ; 1 January 1913 – 4 August 2008
) was a Pakistani politician and judge. Justice Cheema is the only Pakistani to reach the top positions in all branches of state. He served as the acting
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces. , Judge of the High Court and then
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 ...
, Senior Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, Federal Law Secretary, and Chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology. He is considered the most prominent personality in the
Cheema tribe and is commonly referred to as the "Chief of Cheemas".
Early age and education
Justice Cheema was born in a small village named Kathore Kalan, 303 JB near
Gojra
Gojra (; ), is the administrative capital of Gojra Tehsil and a city in the Toba Tek Singh District in Punjab province of Pakistan.
Gojra is from Faisalabad, from Lahore and north of Toba Tek Singh. Founded in 1896 during the British ...
,
Toba Tek Singh in 1913. After graduation from
Islamia College in 1932, he received his master's degree in
English literature
English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...
from the
University of the Punjab
The University of the Punjab (UoP) is a public university, public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1882, its international influence has made it one of the most prestigious universities in South As ...
in 1934. Later, circumstances forced him to return to his native village, where he oversaw the affairs of his family and the village following his father's sudden demise, who was the head of the village. A desire for continued professional education led him into the field of law in 1945. In 1947, he received his law degree and subsequently started a law practice in Lyallpur, now known as
Faisalabad
Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...
.
Participation in the Pakistan movement
Justice Cheema played an active role in the Pakistan movement and supported
Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, ...
. He also participated in the gathering in
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 ...
on the 23 March 1940. He had several meetings with national poet
Allama Iqbal
Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...
and had cordial and personal relations with many Muslim leaders of the Indian subcontinent, including
Mohammad Ali Bogra
Syed Mohammad Ali Chowdhury Bogra (19 October 1909 – 23 January 1963) was an East Pakistani politician, statesman, and a diplomat who served as third prime minister of Pakistan from 1953 to 1955. He was appointed in this capacity in 1953 un ...
,
Feroz Khan Noon
Sir Malik Feroz Khan Noon (7 May 18939 December 1970) , best known as Feroze Khan, was a Pakistani politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Pakistan from 16 December 1957, until being removed when the President Iskandar ...
,
Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari
Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari (Urdu سید عطاء اللہ شاہ بخاری) (23 September 1892 – 21 August 1961), was a Muslim Hanafi scholar, religious and political leader from the Indian subcontinent. He was one of the Majlis-e-Ahrar-e- ...
, Molvi Tamizuddin Khan.
Political career
Justice Cheema was elected as member of the West Pakistan Legislative Assembly in one unit system in 1951 and later elected as the Deputy Opposition Leader. He became the member of the
National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...
in 1962 for
Toba Tek Singh (The largest Constituency of the country at that time). Subsequently, he was elected Senior Deputy Speaker of the
National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...
by a single vote, defeating the Treasury Candidate. Throughout his tenure as Senior Deputy Speaker, he served as the
Speaker of the National Assembly because of the illness of
Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan
Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan (M. T. Khan; March 1889 – 19 August 1963) was the Speaker of Pakistan's Constituent Assembly from 1948 to 1954 and National Assembly of Pakistan between 1962 and 1963.
Early life
Khan was born in March 1889 to the Benga ...
and absence of Fazul ul Qadir. Justice Cheema is the only
Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan
The Speaker of the National Assembly (Urdu: اسپیکر قومی اسمبلی); informally as Speaker National Assembly, is the Speaker (politics), presiding official of the National Assembly of Pakistan, National Assembly of Pakistan, the low ...
who had cast his
Casting vote
A casting vote is a vote that someone may exercise to resolve a tied vote in a deliberative body. A casting vote is typically by the presiding officer of a council, legislative body, committee, etc., and may only be exercised to break a deadlock ...
in the House twice: once in favour of the Treasury and once in favour of the Opposition. He also served as the Acting
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces. in the absence of Field Marshal
Ayub Khan
Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...
more than three times.
Judicial career
Besides his political career, Justice Cheema served as Judge of West Pakistan
High Court and also as Federal Law Secretary. He headed the team which drafted the first complete, comprehensive constitution of Pakistan now known as the
1973 Constitution. He was elevated to the Supreme Court and retired as the Senior Most Judge 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 ...
.
Council of Islamic ideology
After his retirement from the Supreme Court, Cheema was made the full-time Chairman of
Council of Islamic Ideology
Council of Islamic Ideology (CII; () is a constitutional body of Pakistan, responsible for giving legal advice on Islamic issues to the government and the Parliament.
This body was founded in 1962 under the government of Ayub Khan.
Functions ...
(Islami Nazeryati Council) and was responsible for the conversion of the parts of the Pakistani common law into
Sharia
Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...
Laws.
International service
United Nations
Cheema led the Pakistani Delegation at the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
annual conference twice. He also represented Pakistan in the Annual Conference of the Parliamentarians held in Caracas, Venezuela as leader of the Pakistani delegation.
Muslim World League
Cheema served in the
Muslim World League
The Muslim World League (MWL; ) is an international Islamic non-governmental organization based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that promotes what it calls the true message of Islam by advancing moderate values.
The NGO has been funded by the Saudi gov ...
(MWL), an international Muslim organisation having observer status in the UN and
OIC, as its Secretary General, Asian Branch for more than 15 years. His contribution as Secretary General of the MWL was in Humanitarian relief and Mediation for the Muslim Ummah and in particular for the Muslims of the Asian region.
His main accomplishments were:
* Approval and Opening of the first
Islamic
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
Centre (largest in the Asian Region) in
Xinjiang
Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
province in China.
* Repatriation efforts for stranded Pakistanis often referred to as
Biharis
Bihari () is a demonym given to the inhabitants of the Indian state of Bihar. Bihari people can be separated into three main Indo-Aryan ( Bihari-speaking) ethnolinguistic groups: Bhojpuris, Maithils and Magahis. They are also further divid ...
in Bangladesh
* Contribution for the revival of the Islamic Values and the religion in various Asian States
* Successful mediation among the various factions in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
Honours
He was awarded the Highest Civil Award of
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
by President
Roh Tae-woo
Roh Tae-woo (, ; 4 December 1932 – 26 October 2021) was a South Korean army general and politician who served as the sixth president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993. In 1987, he became the first president to be directly elected under the cur ...
for his endeavours in bringing Pakistan and South Korea closer through the establishment of diplomatic relations and for the formation of the Pak-Korea Friendship Association.
Timeline
# Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the West Pakistan Legislative Assembly. 1951–1955
# Senior Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. 1962–1965.
# Acting President of Pakistan. More than thrice. 1962–1965.
# Judge of the West Pakistan/Lahore High Court. 1965–1973.
# Federal Law Secretary. 1973–1975.
# Judge 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 ...
. 1975–1979.
# Chairman Council of Islamic Ideology. 1977–1980.
# Secretary General of
Muslim World League
The Muslim World League (MWL; ) is an international Islamic non-governmental organization based in Mecca, Saudi Arabia that promotes what it calls the true message of Islam by advancing moderate values.
The NGO has been funded by the Saudi gov ...
Asian Branch. 1980–2000.
Book
* ''The
Qadiani
Qadiani (, ; ) is a religious slur used to refer to Ahmadi Muslims, primarily in Pakistan. The term originates from Qadian, a small town in northern India, the birthplace of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement. While it i ...
Problem: A Legal and Historical Perspective : Working Paper'', 1986.
* ''
Ijtehad and Islamization of Laws'', 2010.
References
External links
*
*http://www.na.gov.pk/en/deputyspeakers.php
*http://cii.gov.pk/aboutcii/Listofchairmen.aspx
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheema, Mohammad Afzal
1913 births
2008 deaths
Place of death missing
Deputy speakers of the National Assembly of Pakistan
Acting presidents of Pakistan