KARACHI: Retired Justice Zafar Hussain Mirza passed away here on Thursday.

He was 87.

Survived by a widow and six children, Justice Mirza was being treated at a private hospital where he died. His funeral was held in the evening, which was attended by his son, former Sindh home minister Dr Zulfikar Mirza, other family members, prominent politicians, lawyers and retired judges.

Later, he was laid to rest in the Gizri graveyard.

Justice Mirza was appointed a judge of the Sindh High Court on Oct 1, 1975, during the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto government. He was among the judges who had taken the oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) imposed by General Ziaul Haq in 1981, thereby, abrogating the Constitution of 1973.

He was elevated to the post of judge of the Supreme Court on Aug 4, 1981, and retired on Oct 9, 1991. After retirement, he served as chairman of the Federal Public Service Commission and during the Musharraf government his name was also considered for the post of the head of the Chief Election Commission before the 2002 election.

He was a co-signatory to a declaration signed by 17 retired judges of the country demanding that former president Musharraf revoke the state of emergency he had imposed on the country in 2007.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2015

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