Wasim Sajjad

Wasim Sajjad (Urdu: وسیم سجاد; born 30 March 1941), is a Pakistani lawyer and legal educator who served as an acting President of Pakistan on two non-consecutive terms: from July 1993 until November 1993, and from 1996 until 1997. He served as the Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan from December 1988 until October 1999.

Currently, being a member of PML-Q, he is the Leader of the Opposition in Senate of Pakistan.^[1] He is also the chancellor of the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences. He was offered to become the Chief Justice of Pakistan in 2003 after the retirement of Sheikh Riaz Ahmad but he declined the offer and preferred to stick to his law profession.^[2] He is currently the Chairman of the Pakistan Youth Hostels Association and is the national secretary for the Rhodes Scholarship in Pakistan.

Early life

Wasim Sajjad was born on 30 March 1941 in Jalandhar, Punjab. He spent his childhood days at Army Burn Hall College, Abbottabad, from where he completed his O and A Levels. His father, the late Mr Justice Sajjad Ahmed Jan, served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and later as the Chief Election Commissioner. Wasim Sajjad followed in his footsteps, becoming a lawyer, and attending Wadham College, Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship.

Education

He took a degree in Jurisprudence in 1966, and the Degree of Bachelor of Civil Law from Oxford University in 1967.^{[citation needed]} He was also awarded an M. A. from the University of Oxford in 1967. He obtained first position in Administrative Law at Oxford and was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple, London.^{[citation needed]} At Oxford, he was also the President of the Oxford University Islamic Society in 1966, and President of the Oxford University Pakistan Society from 1965 to 1966. He was elected President of the Oxford University Birkenhead Society 1965-1967, and as Secretary of Wadham College, Oxford, in 1966. He later graduated in 1964.^{[citation needed]}

Political career and President of Pakistan

His political career began in the 1980s when he was elected to the Pakistani Senate. He served as the Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary affairs, and also held the portfolio of the Federal Minister for Interior, under the Government of Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo.^{[citation needed]} He moved up to Chairman of the Senate in 1988, and served his first term as President in 1993, following the resignation of Ghulam Ishaq Khan. As interim president, Sajjad was essentially a placeholder for the office until elections were completed. He would run in the election for President, but was defeated by Farooq Leghari.^{[citation needed]} In 1997, Sajjad was again made interim President and stepped down upon the election of Muhammad Rafiq Tarar.^{[citation needed]}

In 2002, Sajjad was accused of mis-use of government vehicles and phones, amounting to millions of rupees. He was ordered to pay a fine, but served no time in jail.^[3]

As Chairman of the Senate he has led parliamentary delegations in a number of countries including Trinidad, New Zealand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Poland, Australia, France, United States, Canada, Japan, Thailand and Chile.^{[citation needed]}

Political positions

He was elected to the Senate of Pakistan in 1985, 1991, 1997, 2003 and again in 2006.He also held the Office of the Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs from September, 1986 to December, 1988. Also held the portfolio of the Federal Minister for Interior & Narcotics Control He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate in 1988. Sajjad was elected as Chairman, Senate of Pakistan, in December, 1988 and re elected as Chairman, Senate, in 1991, 1994 & 1997, for a term of three years each time. He has thus been Chairman Senate for about twelve years which is the longest period for any Chairman Senate in Pakistan. He has acted as President of Pakistan on numerous occasions during absence of the President from Pakistan. He was the President of Pakistan from July to November, 1993 (During this period, general elections were held in the country and power was transferred to the elected government). He once again became the President of Pakistan from December, 1997 to January, 1998. He served as the Leader of the House in the Senate of Pakistan from March, 2003 to March, 2008.

See also

• Establishment (Pakistan)
• List of Pakistani heads of state or government
• List of Pakistanis
• Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan
• List of Presidents of Pakistan
• Acting President of Pakistan
• National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences
• Ministry of Interior

References

External links

• Wasim Sajjad profile Story of Pakistan

v t e Presidents of Pakistan (List) Mirza Ayub Yahya Bhutto Chaudhry Zia Ghulam Ishaq Sajjad (Acting) Leghari Sajjad (Acting) Tarar Musharraf Soomro (Acting) Zardari Hussain Italics indicate military rulers

v t e Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan Khan Habibullah Khan Marwat Ghulam Ishaq Khan Wasim Sajjad Muhammad Mian Soomro Farooq Naek Nayyar Hussain Bukhari Raja Zafar ul Haq