Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim
Encyclopedia
The Honourable Justice Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim (Urdu: فخر الدين جى ابراهيم; born: February 12, 1928—), TI, is a retired Pakistani Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
, and Senior Advocate Supreme Court, and peace activist
. Ebrahim also served as the interim Law Minister
from 18 July 1993 till 19 October 1993, and interim Justice Minister
5 November 1996 till 17 February 1997. However, he is well known as the former Attorney General of Pakistan
during the democratic government of former Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
and served his close legal adviser throughout the 1970s. In 1988, he was also Govornor of Sindh appointed by the former Prime minister Benazir Bhutto during her first term. He was born in February 1928 in Dhrol (now in Gujarat), India.
Ibrahim was born in 1928 in Ahmedabad
, in the state of Gujarat, British Indian Empire to a Gujarati Muslim family. In 1945, Ibrahim attended the Gujarat Vidyapith
where he earned his LLB
in Law
with distinctions in 1949. While at there, Ibrahim studied courses on philosophy and also attended the lectures given by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, which significantly played an important role for his advocacy for nonviolence. In 1950, Ibrahim moved to Pakistan and then attended the Sindh Law College
where he gained the LLM
and was honorary conferred a Juris Doctor
in 1960. In 1961, Ibrahim established his own firm while he continued lecture at the Sindh Law College. In 1971, Ibrahim was became country's one of the top lawyer, and therefore, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto appointed him as the Attorney General of Pakistan in 1971.
In March 1981, serving as an ad hoc
Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, he refused to take a fresh oath, under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) promulgated by General
Zia-ul-Haq along with Justice Dorab Patel
and Chief Justice Sheikh Anwarul Haq. The PCO not only negated the independence of the judiciary but also prolonged martial law
by nullifying the effect of a judgement giving General Zia's regime limited recognition.
Ebrahim served as the Governor of Sindh
from 19 April 1989 to 6 August 1990. He was preceded by Justice (retd) Qadeeruddin Ahmed
and succeeded by Mahmood A. Haroon.
Ebrahim established the Citizen Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) in 1989. The CPLC works in the mega city of Karachi
and has immensely helped the common man in getting the First Information Report
(FIR) registered if it is refused by police for some any reason.
In 1996, Ebrahim served as law minister in the caretaker cabinet of President
Farooq Leghari
, following the dismissal of the government of Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto
.
Ebrahim heads the law firm of Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim & Company which was originally established in Bombay (now Mumbai
, India). The firm shifted to Karachi
in 1951. The firm is a regarded general legal practice.
Ebrahim has had long-standing ties with the Pakistan Cricket Board
(PCB). In 1995, the PCB initiated an inquiry, under the chairmanship of Ebrahim, to look into allegations made by Australian players Shane Warne
and Mark Waugh
surrounding the First Test
between Pakistan and Australia in Karachi in 1994 and the ODI in Rawalpindi
. The Australian cricketers had accused Saleem Malik
of offering them bribes which they rejected. The inquiry was frustrated as the Australian players did not travel to Pakistan to give evidence, and thus the Inquiry had to rely on their statements together with the cross examination of Salim Malik. In October 1995, Ebrahim concluded the proceedings by saying "The allegations against Saleem (sic) Malik are not worthy of any credence and must be rejected as unfounded". In December 2006, Ebrahim also served as the Chairman of the Anti-doping Appeals Committee constituted by the PCB which acquitted Shoaib Akhtar
and Mohammad Asif. Justice Ebrahim was in favour of the acquittal. Statement by Justice Ebrahim: "This appeal committee [therefore] holds that will not be deemed to have committed a doping offence," Ebrahim said. "The ban and punishment imposed by the earlier tribunal is hereby set aside as being contrary to the provision of laws."
Supreme Court of Pakistan
The Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistan's judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. The Supreme Court has a permanent seat in Islamabad. It has number of Branch Registries where cases are heard. It has a number of de jure powers which are outlined in the...
, and Senior Advocate Supreme Court, and peace activist
Peace activist
This list of peace activists includes people who proactively advocate diplomatic, non-military resolution of political disputes, usually through nonviolent means.A peace activist is an activist of the peace movement.*Jane Addams*Martti Ahtisaari...
. Ebrahim also served as the interim Law Minister
Law Minister of Pakistan
http://www.molaw.gov.pk/The Law Minister of Pakistan heads the Ministry of Law. He serves in the cabinet of the Prime Minister. The present law minister is Senator Mola Baksh Chandio, He was made Law Minister in April 2011...
from 18 July 1993 till 19 October 1993, and interim Justice Minister
Ministry of Justice (Pakistan)
The Ministry of Justice , also known as Justice Ministry is a Government of Pakistan's federal and executive Ministry responsible and tasked with the enforcement of law and administration of justice. The Government department is led by the Minister for Justice who is a political and executive figure...
5 November 1996 till 17 February 1997. However, he is well known as the former Attorney General of Pakistan
Attorney General of Pakistan
The Attorney General for Pakistan is appointed under Article 100 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Deputy Attorney General of Pakistan appointed under the Central Law Officers Ordinance, 1970...
during the democratic government of former Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was 9th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1973 to 1977, and prior to that, 4th President of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973. Bhutto was the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party — the largest and most influential political party in Pakistan— and served as its chairman until his...
and served his close legal adviser throughout the 1970s. In 1988, he was also Govornor of Sindh appointed by the former Prime minister Benazir Bhutto during her first term. He was born in February 1928 in Dhrol (now in Gujarat), India.
Ibrahim was born in 1928 in Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad also known as Karnavati is the largest city in Gujarat, India. It is the former capital of Gujarat and is also the judicial capital of Gujarat as the Gujarat High Court has its seat in Ahmedabad...
, in the state of Gujarat, British Indian Empire to a Gujarati Muslim family. In 1945, Ibrahim attended the Gujarat Vidyapith
Gujarat Vidyapith
The Gujarat Vidyapith is a major university located in Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat in India. It was founded in 1920 by Mohandas Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement...
where he earned his LLB
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
in Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
with distinctions in 1949. While at there, Ibrahim studied courses on philosophy and also attended the lectures given by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, which significantly played an important role for his advocacy for nonviolence. In 1950, Ibrahim moved to Pakistan and then attended the Sindh Law College
Sindh Muslim Law College
The Sindh Muslim Government Law College or S. M. Law College is located on Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The college was established by its first Principal Hassanally A. Rahman Zubedi, a leading Advocate of Sindh on the June 28, 1947 and was affiliated to the University of...
where he gained the LLM
Master of Laws
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
and was honorary conferred a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1960. In 1961, Ibrahim established his own firm while he continued lecture at the Sindh Law College. In 1971, Ibrahim was became country's one of the top lawyer, and therefore, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto appointed him as the Attorney General of Pakistan in 1971.
In March 1981, serving as an ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, he refused to take a fresh oath, under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) promulgated by General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Zia-ul-Haq along with Justice Dorab Patel
Dorab Patel
Chief Justice Dorab Framrose Patel , was a Pakistan jurist, and lawmaker who served as a former Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan and former Chief Justice of Sindh High Court...
and Chief Justice Sheikh Anwarul Haq. The PCO not only negated the independence of the judiciary but also prolonged martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
by nullifying the effect of a judgement giving General Zia's regime limited recognition.
Ebrahim served as the Governor of Sindh
Governor of Sindh
The Governor of Sindh is the appointed Head of State of the provincial government in Sindh, Pakistan. The governor is designated by the Prime Minister and is normally regarded a ceremonial post...
from 19 April 1989 to 6 August 1990. He was preceded by Justice (retd) Qadeeruddin Ahmed
Qadeeruddin Ahmed
Honourable Justice Qadeeruddin Ahmed was a Pakistani jurist, constitutional expert, former Chief Justice of West Pakistan High Court, former Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, former Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and former Governor of Sindh province. He was born in 1908 in Delhi, India...
and succeeded by Mahmood A. Haroon.
Ebrahim established the Citizen Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) in 1989. The CPLC works in the mega city of Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
and has immensely helped the common man in getting the First Information Report
First Information Report
A First Information Report or FIR is a written document prepared by the police in India, Pakistan and Japan when they receive information about the commission of a cognizable offence. It is a report of information that reaches the police first in point of time and that is why it is called the First...
(FIR) registered if it is refused by police for some any reason.
In 1996, Ebrahim served as law minister in the caretaker cabinet of President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Farooq Leghari
Farooq Leghari
Sardar Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari was the eighth President of Pakistan from November 14, 1993 until December 2, 1997...
, following the dismissal of the government of Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a democratic socialist who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from 1988 until 1990 and 1993 until 1996....
.
Ebrahim heads the law firm of Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim & Company which was originally established in Bombay (now Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, India). The firm shifted to Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
in 1951. The firm is a regarded general legal practice.
Ebrahim has had long-standing ties with the Pakistan Cricket Board
Pakistan Cricket Board
The Pakistan Cricket Board is a sporting organization that is responsible for governing all professional cricket including Test cricket and One Day International matches played in Pakistan...
(PCB). In 1995, the PCB initiated an inquiry, under the chairmanship of Ebrahim, to look into allegations made by Australian players Shane Warne
Shane Warne
Shane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
and Mark Waugh
Mark Waugh
Mark Edward Waugh AM is a former Australian cricketer, who represented Australia in Test matches from early 1991 to late 2002, and made his One-Day International debut in 1988. Waugh is regarded as one of the most elegant and gifted stroke makers to ever play the game. His nickname is "Junior" as...
surrounding the First Test
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
between Pakistan and Australia in Karachi in 1994 and the ODI in Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
. The Australian cricketers had accused Saleem Malik
Saleem Malik
Saleem Malik is a former Pakistani cricketer who played between 1981/82 and 1999, at one stage captaining the Pakistani cricket team. He was a right-handed wristy middle order batsman who was strong square of the wicket. His legbreak bowling was also quite effective...
of offering them bribes which they rejected. The inquiry was frustrated as the Australian players did not travel to Pakistan to give evidence, and thus the Inquiry had to rely on their statements together with the cross examination of Salim Malik. In October 1995, Ebrahim concluded the proceedings by saying "The allegations against Saleem (sic) Malik are not worthy of any credence and must be rejected as unfounded". In December 2006, Ebrahim also served as the Chairman of the Anti-doping Appeals Committee constituted by the PCB which acquitted Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket, who is regarded as the fastest bowler in the history of cricket. He set an official world record by achieving the fastest delivery, when he clocked in at 161.3 km/h in his bowling speed, twice at a cricket match against...
and Mohammad Asif. Justice Ebrahim was in favour of the acquittal. Statement by Justice Ebrahim: "This appeal committee [therefore] holds that will not be deemed to have committed a doping offence," Ebrahim said. "The ban and punishment imposed by the earlier tribunal is hereby set aside as being contrary to the provision of laws."