KARACHI, April 19 Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed of the Supreme Court of Pakistan died in a hospital here on Sunday afternoon after a cardiac arrest. He was 60.
Justice Sabih was admitted to the Baqai Hospital last week and was operated upon after brain a hemorrhage.
He is survived by his wife, father, two sons, a daughter, two brothers and two sisters.
His funeral prayers will be offered after Zohr prayers on Monday at Masjid Abdul Aziz, Khadda Market, Khayaban-i-Mujahid in the Defence Housing Authority. He will be laid to rest in the PECHS Graveyard, off Tariq Road.
Born in Hyderabad in 1949, Justice Sabihuddin got his early education at places where his father Wajeehuddin, who was a DMG officer, was posted.
He did his masters from the Punjab University in 1969 and LL.B. from the S. M. Law College, Karachi. He joined the legal profession in early 1970s under the guidance of senior lawyer Khalid Ishaque.
He was appointed a judge of the Sindh High Court in 1997 and became its chief justice on April 5, 2005. He was deposed when Gen Musharraf imposed the emergency on Nov 3, 2007, and he did not take oath under the Provisional Constitution Order.
The present government reappointed him as a judge of the Supreme Court and he has since been serving in the apex court.
Besides being associated with the legal profession, he was an outspoken advocate of human rights. He was a founder member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and served as its vice-president from 1987 to 1990.
Justice Sabihuddin attended several international conferences on human rights and judicial issues. He was elected to the International Advisory Council of International Centre for Promotion of Human Rights and Steering Committee of the South Asia Forum for Legal Education on Gender Issues.
He was also a member of the board of trustees of the Aga Khan and the board of governors of the Hamdard University.
Condolences
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani expressed grief over the death of Justice Sabihuddin Ahmad and prayed to Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant courage to the bereaved family to bear the irreparable loss.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Senior Minister Pir Mazharul Haq and Information Minister Shazia Marri also condoled the death of Justice Sabih.