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Aziz A. Munshi

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Abdul Aziz Abdullah Munshi (Urdu: عزیز احمد مُنشی) is a lawyer and Attorney General of Pakistan for four terms.[1]

Abdul Aziz Abdullah Munshi uses the shorter form Aziz A. Munshi and is a son of Mr. Abdullah Mian Munshi who was a judge in Bombay, India and nephew of Prime Minister Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar. Aziz A. Munshi started practicing law in the year 1954 with his uncle I.I. Chundrigar in Karachi. The Law Chambers of Aziz A. Munshi.[2]

Mr. Aziz A. Munshi was an eminent practising Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan as well as the High Courts until his unfortunate passing on 25.01.2020 at Karachi, Pakistan.

Mr. Aziz A. Munshi started practice in the year 1954 at Bombay, India and at Karachi, Pakistan in the year 1955 in the Chambers of Mr. I. I. Chundrigar, a former Prime Minister and Law Minister of Pakistan, and was closely associated with him till Mr. I. I. Chundrigar’s death in the year 1960. Mr. I. I. Chundrigar was one of the closest and trusted associates of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Mr. Aziz A. Munshi was the Attorney General for Pakistan for four different terms (08.01.1985 to 30.10.1986) (29.05.1988 to 03.12.1988) (06.08.1990 to 13.07.1993) and (02.11.1999 to 30.09.2001), and Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs for Pakistan from 28.11.1999 to 27.11.2000.

He appeared in most of the important Constitutional cases before the Honourable Supreme Court and High Courts, including but not limited to the dissolution of the National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies on several occasions.

He had extensive experience in the drafting and promulgation of federal and provincial laws, legislation, legal instruments and legal frameworks, and was the author of Constitutional legislation including but not limited to the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973 enacted by the Parliament in the year 1985 to enable a smooth transition from Martial Law to Civilian Government through Constitutional amendments.

He was also the author of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance 1999 as well as other federal and provincial laws.

He had been Chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council in his capacity as Attorney General for Pakistan during all the periods shown above in his various terms of holding that Constitutional office.

He represented Pakistan as one of the Counsel of Pakistan in the territorial dispute of Rann of Kutch between Pakistan and India before the International Arbitration Tribunal at Geneva in 1966-67 at the League of Nations Building.

He also represented Pakistan and was Leader of the Legal team, which appeared at the International Court of Justice at The Hague in the year 2000 during hearing of dispute with India regarding the shooting down of the plane Atlantique.

He led the Pakistan Delegation at Law of the Seas Conference at United Nations, New York in the year 1986.

He was elected Chairman of the Afro-Asian Legal Consultative Conference for the year 1991-92, which involved a 56 Nation body and is a continuation of Bandung Conference of 1955, and Mr. Aziz A. Munshi attended the Earth Summit Conference at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in the year 1992.

He was Member of the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Delegation, which visited the United Kingdom in the month of June 1992 to attend various Meetings with respective counterparts. These talks related to specific issues of laws relating to money laundering and human rights.

Mr. Aziz A. Munshi belonged to a respectable family having strong roots in Pakistan. Mr. Aziz A. Munshi’s father, Mr. Abdullah Munshi, was a Judge in Bombay, India and retired there.

Mr. Aziz A. Munshi’s uncle, i.e. his father’s brother-in-law, namely Mr. I. I. Chundrigar, was one of the Founder Leaders of Pakistan, as well as the Prime Minister of Pakistan in the year 1957 and Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament for most of the time. Mr. I. I. Chundrigar was also the Central Commerce Minister in undivided India and also at the time of creation of Pakistan in the year 1947. Thereafter, Mr. I. I. Chundrigar held the offices of Governor, North West Frontier Province in the year 1951 and Governor, Punjab in the year 1953.

Mr. I. I. Chundrigar was a very accomplished Constitutional lawyer who argued the famous case of Dissolution of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan by the Governor General in the years 1954-1955 both in the Chief Court of Sindh and Federal Court of Pakistan.

Thereafter, Mr. I. I. Chundrigar became the Federal Law Minister for Pakistan and was the author of the first Constitution of Pakistan passed by the Constituent Assembly in the year 1956, subsequently abrogated by the imposition of Martial Law in the year 1958.

The main commercial avenue known as I. I. Chundrigar Road at Karachi where Munshi Law Chambers is situated is named after Mr. I. I. Chundrigar in recognition of his services to Pakistan.

References

  1. ^ Aziz A Munshi
  2. ^ Aziz A. Munshi Law Chambers


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