S. M. Zafar

2021-12-18T07:27:19Z

182.185.202.124:

{{short description|Pakistani politician (born 1930)}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = S. M. Zafar
| honorific-suffix =
| image =
| imagesize =
| smallimage = 
| alt =
| caption =
| order =
| office = [[Pakistan Senate|Member]] of the [[Senate of Pakistan]]
| term_start = March 2006
| term_end = March 2012<ref>[http://www.senate.gov.pk/en/find_member.php SM Zafar, listed member of Senate of Pakistan (2006-2012)] Senate of Pakistan website, Retrieved 14 May 2018</ref>
| alongside = 
| president = [[Asif Ali Zardari]]
| primeminister = [[Yousaf Raza Gillani]]
| office2 = [[Ministry of Justice (Pakistan)|Ministry of Justice]]
| term_start2 = 1965
| term_end2 = 1969<ref name=goodreads>[https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/9791908.S_M_Zafar Profile of S.M. Zafar on goodreads.com website] Retrieved 14 May 2018</ref>
| leader2 = Field Marshal [[Field Marshal Ayub Khan|Ayub Khan]]
| office3 = President High Court Bar Association, Lahore
| term3 = 1975
| office4 = President Supreme Court Bar Association
| term4 = 1979<ref name=goodreads/>
| office5 = Chairman Human Right Society of Pakistan
| term5 =
| office6 = Chairman Cultural Association of Pakistan
| term6 =
| office7 = Chancellor of [[Hamdard University]]
| term7 =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|6 December 1930}}<ref name=goodreads/>
| birth_place = [[Rangoon, Burma]]<ref name=goodreads/>
| death_date =
| death_place =
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| nationality = [[Pakistani]]
| party =
| otherparty = 
| spouse = Saifee Syed
| relations =
| children = Roshaneh Zafar (daughter) Syed Asim Zafar (son) Tariq Zafar (son)
| residence =
| alma_mater =
| occupation =
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}}

'''Syed Muhammad Zafar''' (born 6th of December 1930) is one of the more prominent Pakistani [[human rights]] [[activist]]s, a noted lawyer ([[Senior Advocate Supreme Court]]), a politician, and a former member of the [[Senate of Pakistan]]. For some time, he was affiliated with the [[Pakistan Muslim League (Q)]].<ref name=DailyPakistan>[https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/pakistan/senior-lawyer-sm-zafar-instructed-by-wife-amid-television-show-on-panama-verdict/ Senior lawyer SM Zafar instructed by wife amid television show on Panama verdict] ''Daily Pakistan Global'' (newspaper), Published 29 July 2017, Retrieved 14 May 2018</ref>

==Career==
Zafar began his career as a lawyer in the 1950s.<ref name=Washington/> He played an important role during the 1958 imposition of martial law in Pakistan and again in forcing amendments to [[Constitution of Pakistan of 1962]], which at first did not have sufficient protections for basic human rights. After serving as a judge of the high court and as Pakistan's [[Minister for Law and Justice (Pakistan)|Minister for Law and Justice]] from 1965 to 1969,<ref name=goodreads/> Zafar retired from the government in 1968 and started his own law practice.<ref name=Washington/>

Zafar and a few of his contemporaries founded the Human Rights Society of Pakistan in 1976.<ref name=Washington/>

He was awarded an honorary PhD degree in law at the [[University of the Punjab]]'s 124th convocation. He retired from active law practice in 2014.<ref name=goodreads/>

== Official posts ==
*Federal [[Minister for Law and Justice (Pakistan)]] (1965–69)<ref name=goodreads/>
*President High Court Bar Association, Lahore (1975)
*President, Pakistan's Supreme Court Bar Association (1979)<ref name=goodreads/>
*Chairman, Human Right Society of Pakistan<ref name=Washington>{{cite web|url=https://www.wrmea.org/1996-august-september/s.m.-zafar-an-effective-legal-advocate-for-human-rights.html |title=S.M. Zafar– An Effective Legal Advocate for Human Rights|publisher=Washington Report on Middle East Affairs|date=August 1996|author=Richard H. Curtiss|accessdate=14 May 2018}}</ref>
*Chairman, Cultural Association of Pakistan<ref name=Washington/>
*Chancellor of [[Hamdard University]]

==News media commentator==
After retirement from his official government service in 1968, he has been a frequent commentator on current affairs in Pakistan.<ref name=DailyPakistan/><ref>[https://www.dawn.com/news/1391754 Masses want no conflict in institutions: S.M. Zafar] Dawn (newspaper), Published 26 February 2018, Retrieved 14 May 2018</ref>

==Personal life==
Zafar was born on 6 December 1930 in [[Rangoon]], Burma, where his father worked in the construction business.<ref name="Shakargarh"/> His family hailed from the town of [[Shakargarh]] in Punjab. Following the [[Japanese occupation of Burma]], his family returned to their native village in 1944.<ref name="Shakargarh">{{cite web|url=https://www.shakargarh.net/s-m-zafar-a-celebrity-from-shakargarh/|title=S M Zafar: A Celebrity From Shakargarh|date=27 February 2014|accessdate=17 July 2019|work=Shakargarh.net}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
* ''Through the Crisis'' (1971)
* ''Who is Dictator?'' (Urdu: ''Dictator kaun?'')
* ''People, Parliament and Islam'' (Urdu: ''Awam, parliament and Islam'')<ref name=Washington/>
* ''Hajj – A Journey in Obedience''<ref name=Washington/>
* ''Views & Reviews'' (Urdu: ''Tazkaray-Jaizay'')
* ''Understanding Statutes'' (1997)
* ''My Popular Law Cases'' (Urdu: ''Mere Mashoor Mukkadamay'') (میرے مشہور مقد مے)
* ''Pakistan Benaam Corruption'' (Urdu translation: ''Awam KI Adalat Mein'')
* ''Politics in the Court of Law'' (Urdu: ''Adalat Mein Siyasat'')
* ''Dialogues on the Political Chess Board''
* ''Be a Competent Lawyer'' (2014)<ref name=goodreads/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0896/9608078.htm August/September 1996, Page 78 Meet the Pakistanis S.M. Zafar—An Effective Legal Advocate for Human Rights by Richard H. Curtiss]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zafar, S.M.}}
[[Category:Pakistani lawyers]]
[[Category:Pakistan Muslim League (Q) politicians]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1930 births]]
[[Category:Members of the Senate of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Pakistani civil rights activists]]
[[Category:Pakistani expatriates in Myanmar]]
[[Category:Pakistani human rights activists]]
[[Category:People from Narowal District]]

{{Pakistan-law-bio-stub}}
{{Pakistan-senator-stub}}

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S. M. Zafar