ADDRESS <!--[if gte mso 10]> ADDRESS By Mr. Mubarak Hussain Siddiqui, Deputy Attorney-General For Pakistan [5-11-1997] My Lord the Chief Justice Mr. Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed; The Senior Puisne Judge, Mr. Justice Kamal Mansur Alam; Hon'ble Judges of the High Court of Sindh, Karachi; Mr. Muhammad Ali Sayeed, President, High Court Bar Association; Mr. Muhammad Amin Lakhani, President, Karachi Bar Association; Mr. Narain Das C. Motiani, Additional Advocate-General, Sindh; Members of Legal Fraternity and friends! Today is a very special occasion to facilitate the heights achieved by the most distinguished and eminent jurist and a Judge of our country who is above all a God-fearing, humble person and has a towering personality. I am of course here referring to My Lord Mr. Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed. Sir, you are the son of an illustrious father. Whatever I am saying today is the voice of my heart. For me, specially, the present occasion is not only pleasant but a long-awaited moment. Sir, you come from a distinguished family of Delhi. Your father Mr. Justice Waheeduddin Ahmed was an active member of Muslim League. He made his contribution in the struggle for creation of Pakistan. After partition he migrated to Pakistan. Soon he attained prominence as a leading lawyer. He was elevated to the Bench and became the Chief Justice of the West Pakistan High Court. Later on he became a Judge of the Supreme Court. Sir, you were born at Delhi on 1st December, 1938. You had earlier education at Sindh Madarsah, Karachi. You also studied at St. Patrick's College and graduated from F.C. College, Lahore in 1959. Did your LL.B., from S.M. Law College with position. You held the post of Honorary Professor of S.M. Law College. You also held the offices of Secretary, Vice-President of Sindh High Court Bar Association and President of Karachi Bar Association. In November, 1986 you were appointed as Advocate-General Sindh. you were elevated as a Judge of this Hon'ble Court in the year 1988. You undertook several other assignments. As an Advocate I found your Lordship an excellent and brilliant lawyer while as a Judge we find the Law Reports full of your judgments. They amply speak of your wisdom, originality of understanding of law and clarity of thought. A Judge's life is by no means easy because too much is expected from him. Professor Jafre said that a Judge is exalted as a law-giver and a prophet. He must have wisdom of Solomon, the moral vision of Isaiah, the analytic power of Socrates, the intellectual creativity of Aristotle, the humility of Lincoln and impartiality of Almighty. In you we find the reflection of all the above virtues and we are justified in expecting from you more than we can expect from any other person. All of us believe that during your tenure as Chief Justice there will be judicial reforms eradicating corruption which is rampant. Daniel Webster has said "Justice in all generations has been the greatest interest of man on earth". By the passage of time it developed in several fields. In this century there have emerged new concepts and factors which keep on balancing the rights and liberties of individuals, and their relation with the Government and society. You are very much conscious of these developments and the changing needs. This conscious approach of your Lordship is reflected in your various judgments. Every judgment that your Lordship has delivered is highly commendable as it is enundated with reasoning and a commitment to do substantial justice. In fact the time at my disposal today is too short. It is very difficult for me to pick even some of the excellent judgments delivered by your Lordship because the list of those judgments is extremely long and perhaps never ending. However, in my humble opinion among the notable judgments are your judgments in Aijaz Haroon v. Inam Durrani, PLD 1989 Kar. 304, wherein your Lordship was pleased to observe "where a contract of sale is concluded but payment is deferred and subsequently the legal tender loses its value, wholly or in part, the buyer is obliged to pay on the date, when the payment becomes due such amount in terms of the current legal tender or in terms of gold and silver which is equivalent to the real worth of the currency which was the subject-matter of or for which the contract was concluded. In the case of Mirpurkhas Sugar Mills Limited v. District Council, Tharparkar, 1990 MLD 317, wherein your Lordship struck down the imposition of export tax on goods transported outside the Province on the score that the same offended Article 151 of the Constitution which guarantees inter-Provincial trade, Yasmeen Lari v. Income Tax Appellate Tribunal 1990 PTD 967, wherein for the first time your Lordship paved the way for getting a stay of illegal recoveries under the reference jurisdiction and recently in Amna Khatoon v. Shabbir Hussain, PLD 1996 Kar. 517 your Lordship underscored the safeguards as to the arrest and detention of a person and also laid down the duties and obligations cast upon Police officials and Magistrates under sections 61, 62, 167, 173 and 344, Cr.P.C. in respect of which they did not seem to have been mindful. As a Judge your Lordship always held the scales of justice even. You have always given a very patient hearing not only to lawyers but even to the litigants appearing before your Lordship. Everybody who has known your Lordship for even a brief span of time has confidence that the high traditions of this august Court will be maintained by you and those traditions will be a guideline for others. In the end I would like to greet your Lordship again and sincerely pray that may Almighty Allah bestow upon you courage and fortitude that you may discharge your duties with honour and dignity. ***