Malik Muhammad Rustam Khan Kayani (), also known as M. R. Kayani or Justice Kayani, (18 October 1902 – 15 November 1962) was a distinguished

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# ...

i jurist who served as Chief Justice of

West Pakistan West Pakistan was the western province of Pakistan between One Unit, 1955 and Legal Framework Order, 1970, 1970, covering the territory of present-day Pakistan. Its land borders were with Afghanistan, India and Iran, with a maritime border wit ...

from 1958 to 1962. He is noted for his opposition to the dictatorship of General

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 ...

Life and career

He hailed from the village Shahpur located near

Kohat Kohat (; ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century. With a population o ...

, Pakistan, where he was born on 18 October 1902 to an ethnic Pashtun family in the home of Khan Bahadur Abdul Samad Khan Kayani. He passed the matriculation examination from Islamia High School Kohat and did his F.A. from Edwards college Peshawar. He earned his master's degree in English from Government College Lahore.Personalities (profile of Muhammad Rustam Kayani)
Published 13 November 1992. Retrieved 15 November 2018. He started his career in civil service in

Punjab, British India The Punjab Province, officially the Province of the Punjab, was a province of British India, with its capital in Lahore and summer capitals in Murree and Simla. At its greatest extent, it stretched from the Khyber Pass to Delhi; and from the ...

in 1927, and after having served for eight years on the executive side, he was transferred to the judiciary in 1938. He rose to become a judge of the

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 ...

High Court in 1949 and then the chief justice of the West Pakistan High Court in 1958. In 1956, he was elected president of the West Pakistan Branch of the CSP Association. In that capacity he strove to uphold the status of the

Civil service of Pakistan The Central Superior Services (CSS; or Civil Service) is a permanent elite civil service authority and the civil service that is responsible for running the bureaucratic operations and government secretariats and directorates of the Cabinet of ...

. He was also the member of the famous Punjab Disturbances Court of Inquiry.

As a chief justice

Kayani retired in October 1962. He was not elevated to 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 ...

because of his open criticism of the military regime. The citizens of

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 ...

arranged a farewell reception in his honor in which he was named as Lisan-e-Pakistan (Voice of Pakistan). In one of his more memorable comments he wrote: :"There are quite a few thousand men who would rather have the freedom of speech than a new suit of clothes and it is these that form a nation, not the office hunters, the licenses even the tillers of the soil and drawers of the water." One major Pakistani English newspaper comments about him, "Mr. Kayani was gifted with a keen sense of humour. He was satirical without being sarcastic, humorous without being offensive. Frail, lean and thin, he was very gentle and genial in conversation, yet firm and unshakable in conviction."M.R. Kayani dies before his 'memorable' speech (obituary and profile)
Dawn, Published 15 November 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2018.

Last visit

In November 1962, he embarked upon a visit to

East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...

where he was invited by the Bar Associations of

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

Rajshahi Rajshahi (, ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city and a major Urban area, urban, administrative, commercial and educational centre of Bangladesh. It is also the administrative seat of the eponymous Rajshahi Division, division and Rajshahi Distr ...

and

Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...

. He died on 15 November 1962 in Chittagong Circuit House. His half-written speech was lying on the table beside his bed. The collections of his English and Urdu speeches entitled ''Not the Whole Truth'', ''Some More Truth'' and ''Afkar-e-Pareeshan'' appeared posthumously.

Legacy

One of the six boarding hostels at the Garrison Cadet College Kohat is named in his honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kayani, M. R. 1902 births 1962 deaths Pakistani judges Pashtun judges Edwardes College alumni Government College University, Lahore alumni