LAHORE: Former Lahore High Court (LHC) chief justice Iftikhar Husain Chaudhry passed away on Friday in London.

His body will be brought to Pakistan on Saturday (today) at 10am.

He had gone to London for lungs treatment but died of a cardiac arrest before surgery. He had also undergone an open heart surgery a few years back.

Justice Chaudhry was born in 1946 in Jhelum. His elder brother, Chaudhry Altaf Husain, remained Punjab governor two times. He started practice in the Lahore High Court in 1979.

He was elevated to the bench as additional judge on Aug 7, 1994, and confirmed on June 5, 1995. He took oath as the 36th chief justice of the LHC and remained in office from Sept 7, 2002, to Dec 31, 2007.

Justice Chaudhry had taken oaths under Provisional Constitution Orders promulgated by former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf in October 1999 and November 2007.

During the 2007 emergency state in the country, Justice Chaudhry supported Musharraf’s agenda and used police to curb voice of the bar against the suspension of the judiciary. He had allowed a police operation inside the LHC against lawyers protesting the acts of Musharraf on Nov 5, 2007.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play