Address

Address <!--[if gte mso 10]> Address By Mr. Justice A.S. Salam, Chief Justice Lahore High Court Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr. Justice Muhammad Haleem, learned Judges of the Supreme Court, Minister of Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr. Wasim Sajjad, the Governor of the Punjab Makhdoom Sajjad Hussain Qureshi, Attorney-General of Pakistan, Mr. Aziz A. Munshi, the Chief Justice of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, Raja Muhammad Khurshid, Chief Justice of Federal Shariat Court, Mr. Justice Gul Muhammad Khan, the Chief Justice of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Sardar Muhammad Ashraf Khan, Chief Justice of Sind High Court, Mr. Justice Ajmal Mian, Chief Justice of Baluchistan High Court, Mr. Justice Abdul Qadeer Chaudhry, brother Judges of the High Courts, Advocate-General of the Province of Punjab, Additional Advocate-General at Multan, President of the Multan High Court Bar Association, the Presidents of Bar Associations, learned Advocates, members of the Senate, National Assembly of Pakistan and Provincial Assembly of Punjab, ladies and gentlemen! It is Allah's grace that I am standing here to welcome you on the auspicious occasion of inauguration of the Lahore High Court Building at Multan, a city from antiquity of a great saint Hazrat Bahauddin Zikria, his grandson Shah Rukan-i-Alam, and other reverend beings. A personal reference I wish to make for publicly acknowledging long love the great saint had for my ancestor and affection I believe he has for me. Some eight hundred years ago Hazrat Bahauddin Zikria went to Pakpattan to meet Baba Farid-ud-Din Shakarganj. My ancestor was the disciple of the latter and his duty was to bring wood from the jungle for cooking. He must have been a good worker and devotedly served the great guest. When Hazrat Bahahuddin Zikria came back to Multan, he wrote to Baba Farid of Pakpattan that the latter should send his disciple my ancestor to him and instead have as many of his own disciples as he liked. Baba Farid wrote back with reference to the name of the disciple which was Jamal that Beauty is not exchangeable. He appointed the latter as his first Khalifa. When I came to Multan in 1981, I went to the Mazar and after prayers said that my ancestor could not come. I have come. Please accept me. I believe it was Allah's will and Hazrat Bahauddin Zikria's acceptance of my request that I continued to be a Judge in spite of the Provisional Constitution Order. Another incident I would also like to relate for the same reason. And that is that sometime in March/April, 1987 1 was on nomination in Multan. I went to the Mazars. After prayers I was coming back from the mausoleum of Shah Rukan-i-Alam. My eyes fell on an inscription containing a Persian Couplet. I do not know Persian but the first few words of the last line I could understand. Those were knew I was Asi i.e. and also that I needed helping hand. So I said to Shah Rukan-i-Alam that here is a sinner needing helping hand. Sometime Dr. M.S. Rana, Principal Law College, Multan told me to recite. Within few days, I was appointed Acting Chief Justice of the High Court. Besides making public acknowledgements I wanted to share these experiences to show that service and respect to the worthy beings is liked by Almighty Allah and His pleasure is more than enough for everything in life here and hereafter. Sir, you all know the famous couplet which is to this effect : In 1940, Pakistan Resolution was passed. Seven years later Pakistan was on the map of the world. High Court Bench was established in 1981 and its building has been inaugurated by the highest Judge and jurist of this country, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr. Justice Muhammad Haleem--comparable to him are not found in the annals of history of any time, civilization or country. Never ever was a Judge who, undaunted by absolute brute force and unaffected by hurricane of current stood erect and acted according to his conscience showing independence of mind par excellence and carrying the highest twelve of the ultimate Court of the country, showed the way how to give effect to the democratic will of the people. Wherever was a Judge of so independent a mind, creative and abet- to carry the best, that the country lost in the morass of Martial Law, is pulled up and put on the rails of democratic Constitutional Government, a Government of the people, by the people and for the people? If we go astray and do not follow the principles and the Constitution God forbid, disaster would be the inevitable consequence. It would be, then, no use decrying others. People, generations after generations, and history will not excuse the persons responsible. If we have slight intelligence, discernment or even memory, we know that deviation from the right path leads irretrievably to doom. It has done so before and will do so again. It is Allah's dicta and nature or reason's rule, whatever you may call it. Let us, therefore, pray and vow in the precinct of this High Court that we would tread on the right path which leads to showerings of His blessings and avoid going astray or where doom looms large. Ameen! The State has spent money, the architects have planned, Justice Muhammad Ahmad was supervised, the masons have built and the labourers have sweat, to make this glorious building for rendering justice to all without any distinction whatsoever. You all know that the great and the last Prophet (Peace be upon him) decided cases in the mosque. The place where justice is done is called from time immemorial temple of justice'. Whatever you may call it, the place where justice is done is sacrosanct. The building is there. Let our hearts be attuned to truth. Seven years is a long enough time to imbibe the spirit. Let no one say that the last line of the couplet still holds true. Let the people who enter the portals of these premises be all engaged in pursuing justice, truth and righteousness. Those who come to seek redress of their grievances, let them have confidence and faith that they would be heard patiently, sympathetically, and their causes determined honestly and impartially without fear or favour. Those who come to plead their causes are called advocates or vakils. Vakil is Allah's name too. They deserve our utmost respect. Can anybody show restiveness or impatience if he remembers that the vakils standing before him carry the name of God Himself. If He were there, would anyone dare but be on the best of the behaviour? The Judges have to remember that they are sitting on judgment over people whom His own Maker, the Allah, has created by His own hands, has infused His spirit in them, ordered angels to prostrate before them and made them most respectable in His entire creation. How can they (the Judges) not show respect to the people before them? Nor can they ever forget that what they are doing is the one thing which is so important that Allah has kept it for Himself to do it on the Day of Judgement. He would do so on the basis of evidence collected by his angels, given by each limb of the man and after asking him to have his say and tell his part of the story. If He is so thorough and careful, how can a mere creature not do his best to determine what is correct, true and right? Sir, I have taken long for which I apologize but I wished to emphasise that we all Judges, lawyers, litigants and members of the staff attached who have anything to do within these premises must have clean hands, do our best, concentrate on our respective duties and be aware that our Maker is looking in the inner most processes of our thought. He and His creatures the people know when we deviate. May Allah in His infinite mercy shower His blessings -on these buildings and all the people who enter and guide everyone to tread on the right path and keep, those who go astray or are doomed, away from it. Ameen! May this building of the Lahore High Court at Multan be a befitting resting place of Hazrat Bahauddin Zikria and seat of justice tempered by Hilum, when the Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr. Justice Muhammad Haleem has inaugurated it. ***