Veteran lawyer Sharifuddin Pirzada passes away

KARACHI: Veteran lawyer and former attorney general Sharifuddin Pirzada passed away after protracted illness on Friday in Karachi at the age of 94. 

Sharifuddin Pirzada was born in Burhanpur in present day India in 1923. Pirzada is said to have remained secretary to founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1940s.

Pirzada graduated from the University of Bombay in 1945 and obtained his Barrister-at-Law degree from Lincoln’s Inn in the United Kingdom.

He served as foreign minister during military ruler General Ayub Khan’s tenure from 1966-68 after resignation of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He also served as attorney general for former military rulers General Yahya Khan and General Zia-ul-Haq.

Pirzada was the head of former president Pervez Musharraf’s defence team in 2014 when he faced sedition charges relating to his proclamation of a state of emergency in 2007.

He authored several books on law, judicial history of Pakistan and his association with the founding father of the country.

Pirzada was a highly controversial figure among political and judicial circles due his support and ensuring the legitimacy of  military rulers and the status quo in the country.