Gulzar Ahmed
Office27th Chief Justice of Pakistan
AppointerArif Alvi
PredecessorAsif Saeed Khosa
SuccessorUmar Ata Bandial
Term start21 December 2019
Term end1 February 2022
Office 1Senior Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
Predecessor 1Asif Saeed Khan Khosa
Successor 1Mushir Alam
Term start 118 January 2019
Term end 120 December 2019
Office 2Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
Appointer 2Asif Ali Zardari
Term start 216 November 2011
Term end 21 February 2022
Office 3Justice of the Sindh High Court
Term start 327 August 2002
Term end 316 November 2011
Birth date2 February 1957 (age 69)
Birth placeKarachi, Federal Capital Territory, Pakistan
FatherNoor Muhammad
Alma materGulistan School, Karachi (elementary)
Government National College, Karachi (B.A)
Sindh Muslim Law College

Gulzar Ahmed (; born 2 February 1957) is a Pakistani jurist who served as the 27th Chief Justice of Pakistan from 21 December 2019 to 1 February 2022.

Early life and education

Ahmed's father, Noor Muhammad, was a lawyer in Karachi. Ahmed completed his elementary education from Gulistan Shah Abdul Latif School located in Karachi. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Government National College, Karachi. He went on to obtain the law degree from Sindh Muslim Law College.[1]

Judicial career

Ahmed started his legal career as an advocate on 18 January 1986 and joined Sindh High Court Bar Association (SHCBA) on 4 April 1988. He joined Supreme Court Bar Association on 15 September 2001. He was elected honorary secretary of SHCBA from 1999 to 2000.[1] From there on, he became a justice of Sindh High Court and then was appointed as a justice in the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 16 November 2011.[2] Ahmed was part of the five-judge bench which disqualified the-then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the Panama Papers case, penning a dissenting opinion in the split verdict.[1]

On 4 December 2019, the law ministry notified the appointment of Ahmed Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) upon approval by President Arif Alvi.[3] On 21 December 2019, Ahmed took oath as the CJP following the retirement of Asif Saeed Khosa.[4]

On February 11, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed had issued an order banning Justice Isa from hearing cases involving Prime Minister Imran Khan, stating that justice Qazi Faez Isa had already filed a petition against the prime minister in his personal capacity against the proposed plan to distribute Rs500 million development fund each among PTI lawmakers. A senior member of the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) Munir Kakar and vice chairman of the Balochistan Bar Council (BBC) Qasim Ali Gajaizi and the chairman of the executive committee (BBC) in a statement regretted that such a directive was against legal and constitutional principles, especially when a 10-judge Supreme Court bench had already quashed the presidential reference filed against Justice Isa — a reference which they said was based on malice.[5]

In June 2021, he ordered demolition of properties across Karachi.[6]

References

  1. ^ Dawn.com (2019-12-21). "Profile: Justice Gulzar Ahmed — the 27th Chief Justice of Pakistan". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  2. ^ "Honourable Mr. Justice Gulzar Ahmed". www.supremecourt.gov.pk. Archived from the original on 18 September 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  3. ^ "Law ministry notifies appointment of Justice Gulzar Ahmed as new CJP". Dawn. December 4, 2019.
  4. ^ "Justice Gulzar to be sworn in as 27th chief justice of Pakistan on Dec 21 | The Express Tribune". 4 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Lawyers demand end to ban on Isa from hearing cases of PM - Pakistan - DAWN.COM". 13 February 2021.
  6. ^ Tanoli, Ishaq (2021-06-14). "Supreme Court orders 'immediate' demolition of Pavilion End Club in Karachi". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2021-06-24.