Muhammad Rafiq Tarar (; ; 2 November 1929 – 7 March 2022) was a Pakistani politician and jurist who served as the ninth
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. from January 1998 until his resignation in June 2001, and prior to that as 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 ...
from
Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
in 1997. Before entering politics, Tarar served as
senior justice 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 ...
from 1992 to 1994 and as the 28th
Chief Justice of Lahore High Court
The Lahore High Court () is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is ...
from 1989 to 1991.
Tarar was born in
Mandi Bahauddin
Mandi Bahauddin () is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is also the capital of Mandi Bahauddin District. It is the 41st most populous city in Pakistan, according to the 2017 census. The city is about 220 metres above sea level and is located ...
, and graduated with
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
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 1951, before starting practice as a
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters.
The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
in
Lahore High Court
The Lahore High Court () is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is ...
the following year.
In 1966, he pursued a career as a jurist. Tarar later served as a justice in Pakistan's highest courts. After his retirement at 65, he started a political career as a legal advisor to
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...
. Tarar became a senator from Punjab in 1997 and the same year nominated as presidential candidate by
PML-N
The Pakistan Muslim League (N) or (PML(N)) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right, Conservatism in Pakistan, conservative political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate of Pakistan, Senate and the larges ...
, but his nomination paper was rejected by the Acting Chief Election Commissioner. Barrister Ijaz Husain Batalvi assisted by M. A. Zafar and Akhtar Aly Kureshy Advocate, challenged his rejection in
Lahore High Court
The Lahore High Court () is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is ...
and the Full Bench set aside the rejection order of the Election Commission and he was elected president of Pakistan in the presidential election by a margin of 374 out of 457 votes of the
Electoral College
An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...
.
Tarar assumed office in January 1998 with heavy criticism by opposition especially from former Prime Minister
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 ...
who accused him of illegally legitimizing dismissal of her government as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. As
head of state
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of state
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
, Tarar shifted Pakistan's system of government from
semi-presidential
A semi-presidential republic, or dual executive republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamen ...
system to parliamentary democratic system by signing the
Thirteenth Constitutional Amendment. He surrendered his
reserve power
In a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve power, also known as discretionary power, is a power that may be exercised by the head of state (or their representative) without the approval of another branch or part of th ...
of dismissing the Prime Minister, triggering new elections and dissolving the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
. He also signed the
Fourteenth and
Fifteenth
In music, a fifteenth or double octave, abbreviated ''15ma'', is the interval between one musical note and another with one-quarter the wavelength or quadruple the frequency. It has also been referred to as the bisdiapason. The fourth harmonic, ...
amendment to the
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
that limited the powers of the presidency from
executive
Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators
** Executive dir ...
to a
figurehead
In politics, a figurehead is a practice of who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that ...
.
Tarar resigned as President in 2001 in the wake of the
1999 Pakistani coup d'état
The 1999 military takeover in Pakistan was a bloodless ''coup d'état'' initiated by the military staff at the Joint Staff HQ working under the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharr ...
.
He resisted and did not endorse the 12 October 1999 military coup. He was forced to step down by then Chief Executive
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 ...
and ultimately succeeded by Musharraf through a
referendum
A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
held in 2002.
Twenty months after seizing power in a coup, General Musharraf took the head of state's oath and became the fourth military ruler to become president.
Early life and education
Muhammad Rafiq Tarar was born in
Mandi Bahauddin
Mandi Bahauddin () is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is also the capital of Mandi Bahauddin District. It is the 41st most populous city in Pakistan, according to the 2017 census. The city is about 220 metres above sea level and is located ...
,
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
, on 2 November 1929 to a Tarar family.
Tarar was influenced by
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- ...
and he took a part in political sessions of
Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam during British colonial rule. In his college years, he was also an activist for the
All-India Muslim League
The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party founded in 1906 in Dhaka, British India with the goal of securing Muslims, Muslim interests in South Asia. Although initially espousing a united India with interfaith unity, the Muslim L ...
and was a follower of
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...
. During the
partition of India
The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
, Tarar performed voluntary duty as a relief worker in camps set up by the
All India Muslim Students Federation
The All India Muslim Students Federation (AIMSF) was an Indian Muslim Students' union, students union affiliated with the All-India Muslim League. Splitting off from the All India Students' Federation in 1937, the body was organised under patrona ...
for Indian emigrants. He graduated with
BA in
Islamic Studies
Islamic studies is the academic study of Islam, which is analogous to related fields such as Jewish studies and Quranic studies. Islamic studies seeks to understand the past and the potential future of the Islamic world. In this multidiscipli ...
from
Government Islamia College, Gujranwala in 1949. He acquired
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 ...
degree in 1951 from
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 ...
.
Judicial and political career
Tarar started a career as a lawyer, soon after completion of his studies. In 1951, he enrolled as a pleader in the
Lahore High Court
The Lahore High Court () is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is ...
. He started practicing as an advocate in the same court, in later years. He established a
Gujranwala
Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...
-based legal aid firm in 1960s and excelled at
advocacy
Advocacy is an Action (philosophy), activity by an individual or advocacy group, group that aims to influence decision making, decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to infl ...
. In 1966, Tarar started a judicial career after he appeared and passed the competitive exams to be elevated as session judge in
District Courts. In 1971, he became Chairman of the Punjab Labor Court. Tarar was appointed a judge at Lahore High Court, highest appellate judicial court of Punjab province, in October 1974.

Tarar served in the Lahore High Court as a justice for decades. He was also a member of the
Election Commission of Pakistan
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is an independent, autonomous, permanent and constitutionally established federal body responsible for organizing and conducting elections to the national parliament, provincial legislatures, local g ...
where he represented Punjab. He was appointed the 28th
Chief Justice of Lahore High Court
The Lahore High Court () is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is ...
where he served from 1989 to 1991 until his appointment as a judge in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. His appointment was made by then president
Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Ghulam Ishaq Khan (20 January 1915 – 27 October 2006), commonly known by his initials GIK, was a Pakistani bureaucrat, politician and statesman who served as the seventh President of Pakistan from 1988 to 1993. He previously served as Chairm ...
with the consent of Supreme Judicial Council. He served as a senior justice 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 ...
from January 1992 to November 1994. He was also an awaiting candidate of the
Chief Justice of Pakistan
The chief justice of Pakistan ( initials as CJP; , ''Munsif-e-Āzam Pākistān'') is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and is the highest-ranking officer of the Pakistani judiciary.
The Federal Court of Pakistan was establis ...
but he retired earlier on attaining the age of 65 years and started a political career.
In 1994, following his retirement from the judiciary, Tarar entered into politics and started a political career as a legal adviser and close aide to then opposition leader
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...
. In March 1997, he became 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 ...
and represented
Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
in the upper-house of Pakistan until his resignation in December 1997. He was nominated as the presidential candidate by the
PML(N) in the same year and secured a historical victory in the presidential election.
Presidency (1998–2001)
Initial days
After
Farooq Leghari
Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari (; 29 May 194020 October 2010) was a Pakistani politician who served as the eighth president of Pakistan from 14 November 1993 until resigning on 2 December 1997. He was the first Baloch to be elected as President. ...
's resignation in 1997, he was nominated as a candidate for the
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. .
On 31 December 1997, in an
indirect election
An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting,'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office ( direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the o ...
, Tarar was elected by a huge margin,
getting 374 of 457 votes of the
Electoral College
An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...
against
Aftab Mirani of
PPP (a
PML(N)'s rival) who got 31 votes, and Muhammad Khan Shirani of
JUI(S) who got 22 votes. This was the largest margin in such elections. Upon his election, former Prime Minister
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 ...
delivered a speech in London to the Commonwealth Ethnic Bar Association and criticized his election. She accused him of being dishonest by saying "A former judge
ararwho dishonestly legitimized the overthrow of my first government was elected president of Pakistan. This same man stands accused by a former President
Farooq Leghari
Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari (; 29 May 194020 October 2010) was a Pakistani politician who served as the eighth president of Pakistan from 14 November 1993 until resigning on 2 December 1997. He was the first Baloch to be elected as President. ...
of taking briefcases of money to bribe other judges in the famous 1997 case. The Election Commission rejected Justice Tarar's nomination for the presidency. Justice Qayyum, on leave for his mother's funeral, rushed back to grant a stay, and Tarar was elected. As for the bribery charges, Tarar, as a former judge, like former generals, is immune to prosecution in real terms."
Nuclear Program
During his tenure as President, Tarar played a significant role in Pakistan's nuclear program. Advised by his brother, Colonel Muzafar Tarar, Tarar pursued policies aimed at enhancing the country's nuclear capabilities. Colonel Tarar's insights and expertise, particularly regarding Bhutto's nuclear program, became instrumental in guiding Pakistan's nuclear policy during their tenure. The successful continuation and advancement of Pakistan's nuclear program became one of the highlights of their joint efforts. In addition to his contributions to the nuclear program, Tarar focused on issues related to law and order, education, and social welfare during his presidency. He advocated for the strengthening of democratic institutions and the rule of law, promoting harmony and understanding among different segments of Pakistani society. His family remains influential in the country's political landscape. Colonel Tarar served in the Pakistan Army and held various command positions during his military career. Colonel Tarar is renowned for his invaluable contributions to Pakistan's national security, particularly in the realm of the nuclear program. Colonel Tarar's strategic advice and expertise were pivotal in shaping Pakistan's nuclear policy, ensuring the successful continuation and advancement of the program. His insights into Bhutto's nuclear art program, shared with President Tarar, played a crucial role in guiding Pakistan's nuclear strategy during their tenure. After retiring from the military, Colonel Tarar has been involved in philanthropic activities, supporting initiatives aimed at the welfare of veterans and their families.
Constitutional reforms
Upon becoming President, Tarar was an unassuming and merely ceremonial
figurehead
In politics, a figurehead is a practice of who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that ...
who kept a low profile, and avoided
news media
The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include News agency, news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, News broadcasting, news channels etc.
History
Some of the fir ...
, and he remained a devoted servant and loyalist of the Sharif family. He readily signed the
Thirteenth
In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The thirteenth is most commonly major or minor .
A thirteenth chord is th ...
,
Fourteenth, and
Fifteenth
In music, a fifteenth or double octave, abbreviated ''15ma'', is the interval between one musical note and another with one-quarter the wavelength or quadruple the frequency. It has also been referred to as the bisdiapason. The fourth harmonic, ...
amendments to the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
of Pakistan that limited the powers of the presidency.
The President of Pakistan's powers had thus been slowly removed over the years, culminating in the 1997
Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan which removed virtually all remaining
reserve power
In a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve power, also known as discretionary power, is a power that may be exercised by the head of state (or their representative) without the approval of another branch or part of th ...
s, making the office almost entirely symbolic in nature as per the true spirit of the
Pakistani constitution.
Resignation
Tarar did not endorse the
1999 Pakistani coup d'état
The 1999 military takeover in Pakistan was a bloodless ''coup d'état'' initiated by the military staff at the Joint Staff HQ working under the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharr ...
by the
Pakistani military
The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the Military, military forces of Pakistan. It is the List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel, world's sixth-largest military measured by Active duty, active military personnel and c ...
which elevated General
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 ...
,
Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) is, in principle, the highest-ranking and senior most uniformed military officer, typically at four-star rank, in the Pakistan Armed Forces who serves as a principal staff officer (PSO) an ...
, since he was an appointee of
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...
. The
Pakistani military
The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the Military, military forces of Pakistan. It is the List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel, world's sixth-largest military measured by Active duty, active military personnel and c ...
thus decided not to retain Tarar as the President for his full term of five years, given his partisan attitude. On 21 June 2001, General Musharraf who acted as Chief Executive in capacity, enforced the
Legal Framework Order, 2002 {{primary sources, date=March 2011
The Legal Framework Order, 2002 was issued by Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf in August 2002. It provided for the general elections of 2002 and the revival of the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan, and added numer ...
; Musharraf removed Tarar as he read the paragraph: "Mr. Muhammad Rafiq Tarar has ceased to hold the office of the President with immediate effect."
Death
Tarar retired from politics and settled 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 ...
, where he died after a long illness on 7 March 2022, at the age of 92.
Also See
*
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 ...
*
Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan
The Supreme Court Bar Association () (SCBAP) is an association established in 1989 comprising the supreme court lawyers in Pakistan. The Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act 1973 provides for the forming, recognition and functioning of Bar A ...
References
Citations
Cited works and general bibliography
*
*
*
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarar, Muhammad Rafiq
1929 births
2022 deaths
Chief justices of the Lahore High Court
Deaths from coronary artery disease
Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
Members of the Senate of Pakistan
Pakistan Movement activists
Pakistan Muslim League (N) politicians
Pakistani democracy activists
Pakistani jurists
Pakistani Muslims
People from Gujranwala
Presidents of Pakistan
University of the Punjab alumni
People from Punjab Province (British India)