FULL COURT REFERENCE ON THE RETIREMENT OF MR. JUSTICE S.A.NUSRAT, JUDGE, SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN

FULL COURT REFERENCE ON THE RETIREMENT OF MR <!--[if gte mso 10]> FULL COURT REFERENCE ON THE RETIREMENT OF MR. JUSTICE S.A.NUSRAT, JUDGE, SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN Address By Mr. Justice Muhammad Haleem, Chief Justice of Pakistan [30th April, 1989] Learned Brethren Mr. Justice S.A. Nusrat; Mr. Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid; Mr. Deputy Attorney-General; Advocate-General; Presidents of the Bar Associations and Members of the Bar! Today as I speak to you, I do so with a heavy heart as I and my brethren are parting company with one of our distinguished collegues Mr. Justice S. A Nusrat, who has been with us on the Bench for almost eight years and is now retiring. During all these years, we had the advantage of benefiting from his wisdon, experience of human affairs and legal acumen. He has had a promising career both as a lawyer and a Judge, and we will all cherish memories of his enlightening company in the years to come. Besides his professional orientation, he is a poet and a man of intellect, and has usefully contributed his knowledge in different spheres of learning. 2. Mr. Justice S.A. Nusrat is deeply religious, and his married life is happy and blissful. His two sons are well-placed in life and are settled in America. He has many options in private life after retirement. 3. His father-in-law, the late Prof. Hazoor Hassan Zaidi, was my teacher. I was greatly influenced by his benign qualities and his knowledge which had a great impact on my career as a student. 4. Mr. Justice S.A. Nusrat is unassuming, modest and soft-spoken. As a Judge he has displayed exemplary qualities of patience and understanding of human affairs which have enriched his opinions. His opinions are balanced and bear out his industry, devotion to duty, and a rich application of judicial principles. His expression is clear and unambiguous and evidences a full grasp of facts and law arising in the case, It has always been stimulating for me to sit with him on the Bench, because of his quick understanding of the points in issue and the manner in which they were to be dealt with. In particular his understanding of income-tax law was always beneficially felt and his opinions in income-tax cases are of high distinctive value. 5. His warmth and friendliness towards us is an example of his dignified disposition and cultural sophistication. He is leaving behind rich human values and charismatic visions. 6. I have known Mr. Justice S.A. Nusrat not from 'here, but from the days when we were students of Lucknow University. I had taken the Law Degree, a year earlier, and after Partition, we practised in the same High 'Court for many years. He was highly successful in the profession and had a lucrative practice and commanded great respect of the members of legal fraternity. During his career as a lawyer, he served as Legal Advisor to the Income-Tax Department for the Provinces of Sind and Baluchistan, and also served for one term as the elected President of the Sind High Court Bar Association which has been an office of great honour and eminence. He was elevated to the Bench of the High Court of Sind on 26th February, 1977, and became the permanent Judge of that Court on 26th February, 1979. While serving as Judge of that Court, he was appointed as Secretary to the Government of Pakistan in the Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs in July, 1980. He was appointed as permanent Judge of the Supreme Court on 4th of August, 1981, but continued to serve as Secretary, for some time, which post was upgraded to that of Principal Secretary in the same Ministry. In addition to his duties, he was appointed as the Acting Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan in March, 1982, .which office he has been holding until today. 7. Mr. Justice S. A. Nusrat has had multifarious experiences to his credit as a result of his varied assignments. He has attended important international conferences and richly contributed towards the growth of law in diverse fields. He headed the delegation of the Election Commission to Switzerland, Turkey and the Federal Republic of Germany, to study the election systems in those countries. He was invited by the British Government to visit the United Kingdom in March, 1988, to study the electoral system of that country. 8. His most important contribution is the organizing and the holding of fair and impartial general elections of the National and Provincial Assemblies in November, 1988, under 'the, 1973 Constitution, which' received widespread approbation in many parts of the world. The elections thus gave legitimacy to the will of the people and led to the induction of Governments both at National and Provincial levels and upheld the idea of democracy in a plural society by enforcing the democratic provisions of the Constitution, that is, the right to assemble peacefully, the right to be a member of the political party and the representation of the people through the party-based elections. It marked the enhancing virtues of citizen's voting participation giving rise to symbols of continuity and change in the political process which has ushered in an era of confidence of citizens in the political future of the country by reviving the norms of democracy and thus strengthening the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution. This has been the turning point in the political history of the country and has cleared the gloom and uncertainty hovering over the nation. I am confident that this process would promote equality, justice, civic rectitude and political order. 9. It is common knowledge that the effect of the judgment rendered by this Court in Mst. Benazir Bhutto's case was attempted to be bye-passed by the idea of holding partyless polls. Mr. Justice S.A. Nusrat who was deeply committed to the Court felt it honour bound to implement the judgment and at some stage he even offered to resign as Chief Election Commissioner if that course was adopted. I cannot but admire his determination to hold the cause of democracy as enshrined in the Constitution and his devotion to the Institution and to its precepts. 10. The 22 Member International Delegation organized by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs of Washington DC visited Pakistan to watch the general elections, and after seeing for themselves the fair and impartial polls showed satisfaction and expressed that Mr. Justice S.A. Nusrat had contributed, to and ensured integrity of the constitutional and electoral processes. 11. The President of the International Democratic Institute for International Affairs also approbated the success of his achievement and expressed that the Election Commission, the parties and the voters all deserve credit for making this event a success, and that this free and open campaign represents a historic event which would lead to an institutionalization of democracy in Pakistan. 12. The U.S. Congress unanimously passed a resolution commending the critical role played by Mr. Justice S.A. Nusrat in ensuring the successful transition of power in Pakistan. Lastly, in addition to these appreciative acknowledgements the U.K. Ambassador at Islamabad in November, 1988, expressed his feeling in his letter addressed to Mr. Justice S.A. Nusrat in these words: "Whoever won or lost, it is clear that you and the Election Commission won, and that it was a victory for Pakistan... It was a triumph of organization, and also if I may say so, I think you handled the media very well. Fairness and firmness was the hallmark." 13. It was Mr. Justice S.A. Nusrat's sincere and untiring efforts which led to the holding of fair and impartial elections and he has rightly earned the international recognition for the legitimacy of the ballot. His achievement is a milestone in the political history of this country as election is the only method for the peaceful change of power in a democratic polity. 14. Given the, crucial importance of the organization of legitimate elections in the development of political democracy in Pakistan, it is indeed astounding to discover how' a good deal of serious effort has been invested in the administration of this programme. The procedural details of the exercise undertaken could stand up to any scrutiny in the light of the current standards of election methodology. The functionaries associated with this exercise can hope for the development of unified national political culture that would foster the kind of trust in territorial representation that has been brought about through straightforward electoral engineering. 15. I have had a long association with Mr. Justice S.A. Nusrat. He is not only a friend, but an affectionate friend. For me personally the parting is very painful. With these words, I bid farewell to Mr. Justice S.A. Nusrat and wish him on behalf of myself and my colleagues, a very long, prosperous and a healthy life equally productive after retirement as it has been in office. Khuda Hafiz. ***