Sheikh Anwarul Haq

Sheikh Anwarul Haq
شیخ انوار الحق
Chief Justice of Pakistan
In office
23 September 1977  25 March 1981
Appointed by Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry
Preceded by Muhammad Yaqub Ali
Succeeded by Mohammad Haleem
Personal details
Born (1917-05-11)11 May 1917
Jullundur, British Raj
(now India)
Died 3 March 1995(1995-03-03) (aged 77)
Lahore, Pakistan
Alma mater Kanpur University
University of the Punjab

Sheikh Anwarul Haq (Urdu: شیخ انوار الحق ; 11 May 1917 – 3 March 1995) was a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (23 September 1977 – 25 March 1981). He is considered "ill-famed" by some for giving legitimacy to General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's martial law and for upholding the Lahore High Court decision sentencing Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to death for authorizing the murder of a political opponent. On 25 March 1981, Haq became the first Justice and only Chief Justice to refuse to take the oath under the military imposed PCO, resigning on conscientious grounds (see resignation letter, below right).

Born on 11 May 1917 in Jullundur, British Raj (now Jalandhar, India), Haq received early education in Wazirabad and Jullundur, passing his Matriculation Examination from the Government High School, Jalandhar, in 1932. He ranked first in his school and secured a scholarship. He graduated from D.A.V. College, Jullundur in 1936 with Economics and Political Science as his majors. He was awarded two scholarships and chose to attend Islamia College (Lahore), where he earned a master's degree in Economics. He ranked first in the 1938 M.A. (Economics) Examination at Punjab University, setting a new record in that subject. Haq participated in a large number of declamation contests and prize debates and was often judged as the best speaker.

In 1936–38, Haq took active interest in the formation of the All India Muslim Students Federation, and was a keen advocate of the assertion of the separate identity of Muslims. He attended the All-India Muslim League meeting in Calcutta in December 1937 as a student delegate.

Selected for the Indian Civil Service as a result of competitive examination held in 1939, Haq received a year of training at Oxford. Upon his return to India in November 1940, he was appointed Assistant Commissioner at Ferozepur. He later served at Simla, Gurgaon, and Hissar (in East Punjab), and held various posts in central and provincial government as follows:

Temporal Order Name of Post From To
1Secretary to the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province Public Service Commission. Secretary to Government of Punjab, Pakistan, Medical & Local Government Department22 February 194429 February 1944
2Under-Secretary to Government of Punjab, Pakistan Revenue Department, Lahore1 March 19441 May 1944
3Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Dalhousie, India2 May 1944
4Special Sub-Judge at Lahore for Judicial training9 November 1944
5Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Dalhousie28 May 1945
6Deputy Commissioner, Gurdaspur, IndiaJune 1945July 1945
7District and Sessions Judge, Gurdaspur3 November 1945
8Assistant Commissioner, Gurdaspur23 February 1946
9Deputy Commissioner, Hisar, India27 March 1946
10Secretary to the Partition Steering Committee for Punjab, Pakistan9 July 1947
11Deputy Commissioner, Rawalpindi, Pakistan8 August 1947
12Deputy Commissioner, Montgomery (now Sahiwal), PakistanOctober 1948
13Deputy Commissioner, SialkotApril 1950
14Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Government of Pakistan, RawalpindiJanuary 1952December 1954
15Training at Imperial Defence College (IDC), LondonJanuary 1955December 1955
16Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Government of Pakistan, KarachiAugust 1956
17Joint Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Government of Pakistan, KarachiAugust 1956
18District and Sessions Judge, KarachiFebruary 1957
19District and Sessions Judge, LahoreJune 1958
20Additional Judge, High Court of West Pakistan, Lahore24 October 1959
21Permanent Judge, High Court of West Pakistan, Lahore24 October 1962
22Member of the Law Reforms CommissionMay 1967
23Acting leader of the legal expert delegation to the Republic of SomaliaJuly 1969
24Chief Justice Lahore High Court, Lahore, on dismemberment of One Unit1 July 1970
25Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan16 October 1972
26Chief Justice of Pakistan23 September 197725 March 1981
27Acting President of Pakistan20 April 19787 May 1978

Haq attended the Third Commonwealth and Empire Law Conference in Sydney, Australia in August–September 1965 as leader of the Pakistan delegation. He was interested in academic and educational activities and had been a member of the Syndicates of:

Haq was President of the Himayat-i-Islam Law College, Lahore, and member of the University Law College, Lahore committee for several years. He was acting Vice-Chancellor of Punjab University on multiple occasions. He was appointed as a member of the 1971 War Inquiry Commission from January 1972 to November 1974 along with CJ Hamoodur Rahman. He was also appointed as Chairman of the National Pay Commission and Armed Forces Pay Commission in January 1976. He represented the Pakistan Supreme Court at the centenary celebrations of the Supreme Court of Ghana at Accra in October 1976. He was appointed Chairman of the Commission on the Indus River System in September 1977. He was appointed Chairman of the Civil Services Commission in February 1978. He had been President of the British Universities Alumni Association, Lahore since 1962. He was a guest speaker at a large number of social, intellectual, and cultural functions in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Karachi.

See also

Legal offices
Preceded by
Muhammad Yaqub Ali
Chief Justice of Pakistan
1977–1981
Succeeded by
Mohammad Haleem
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