Syed Afzal Haider (1930 – 2018) was a Pakistani legal figure who was the caretaker

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs minister. He was also an author of several books.

Early life and education

Haider was born in

Pakpattan Pakpattan (Punjabi language, Punjabi and ), often referred to as Pākpattan Sharīf (; ''"Noble Pakpattan"''), is an ancient, historic city in the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, serving as the headquarters of the Pakpattan Distr ...

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 ...

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# ...

in 1930, the son of Syed Muhammad Shah,

Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

, in a so-called (

Sayyid ''Sayyid'' is an honorific title of Hasanid and Husaynid lineage, recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and Ali's sons Hasan ibn Ali, Hasan and Husayn ibn Ali, Husayn. The title may also refer ...

) family of the area, while his mother's family was from the ''Hakimkhana'' of Lahore. Haider received his early education (1936–1947) from this town and afterwards, he did his Intermediate Higher Secondary study at FC College, then graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Government College Lahore The Government College University (colloquially known as GCU; Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded as Government College, Lahore, in 1864 under British administration, it became a university ...

, and afterwards graduated as a lawyer 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 ...

. He has been practicing law since the 1950s. In addition, he has also been involved in various cultural and literary activities.

Career

Apart from his

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

concerns, Syed Afzal Haider also participates in cultural and social activities. In 1987 he conducted the “Baba Farid International Conference", to commemorate the work of the famous

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

saint,

Fariduddin Ganjshakar Farīduddīn Masūd Ganjshakar ( – 16 Oct 1265), commonly known as Bābā Farīd or Sheikh Farīd (also in Anglicised spelling Fareed, Fareed ud-Deen, Masood, etc.), was a 13th-century Punjabi Muslim mystic, poet and preacher. Revered by ...

. With regard to the

and

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 ...

he participated in many international conferences and delivered many lectures on

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 ...

. From 1990 to 2003, he also remained Senior Member of the Council for Islamic Ideology in Pakistan. Haider authored several

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

publications on

Imam Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

, the Bhutto Trial, the

Shariat Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...

Bill, Rehmatu-ul-Lil Alameen, F.I.R and many more. He is at present a faculty member of Qauid-Azam-Law College, Lahore.

Anand Karaj Act

Syed Afzal Haider was actively involved in the passage of the Sikh Marriage Ordinance of 2008 (also known as the 'Anand Karaj Act'). This ordinance marked Pakistan as being the first country in the world where Sikhs could get their marriages registered, based on their religion.

Judgments

On March 26, 2008, Syed Afzal Haider, who was law minister in the caretaker cabinet, took oath as judge of the

Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) is a constitutional islamic religious court of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which has the power to examine and determine whether the laws of the country comply with Sharia law. The court was established in ...

. In 2010, he gave an infamous verdict in ''Mian Abdur Razzaq Aamir v. Federal'' ''Government'', holding sections of the Women's Protection Act of 2006 unconstitutional. The decision gave an expansive definition of the term "Hudood" in the Constitution, and asserted the Federal Shariat Court's "exclusive jurisdiction" over matters not just consisting of Hudood, but also "relating to" ''Hudood''. This definition of ''Hudood'' includes ''Tazir'' as well. The advocates of the Women's Protection Act have argued that the judgment has dismantled the Act's legal reforms.

Death

Haider died on 18 November 2018, at the age of 88.

References

External links

app.com.pkqlc.edu.pk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haider, Syed Afzal 1930 births 2022 deaths Pakistani lawyers Law ministers of Pakistan People from Pakpattan Punjab University Law College alumni Vice Chairmen of the Punjab Bar Council