LONDON: Mr Habib Rahimtoola, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Britain, said here today [June 20] that the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council had set a standard which it would be the best endeavour of the courts in Pakistan to maintain. Mr Rahimtoola was reading a message from the Pakistan Government at a brief ceremony held in the House of Lords today on the occasion of the cessation of appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council from the courts of Pakistan.

The message stated: “With the cessation of the jurisdiction of the Privy Council in relation to Pakistan, which was brought about by an Act of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on the first of May, 1950, a judicial connection of more than a hundred years has come to an end.

“The extent and value of the influence exercised and the services rendered by Their Lordships of the Judicial Committee in this period cannot be overestimated. … They have demarcated the powers of various authorities … and … they have in the past 15 years given invaluable assistance in resolving the difficult points arising out of the interpretation of the Government of India Act, 1935. … ”

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2025