Sir Abdul Rashid

Infobox Officeholder
name = Sir Abdul Rashid



caption =
nationality = flagicon|Pakistan Pakistani
order = 1st Chief Justice of Pakistan
term_start = June 27 1949
term_end = June 29 1954
predecessor = n/a
successor = Muhammad Munir
birth_date = 29 June 1889
birth_place =
death_date = 6 November 1981 (age 92)
death_place = flagicon|Pakistan Pakistan

Sir Abdul Rashid (born 29 June 1889 - 6 november 1981) was the first Chief Justice of Pakistan. He belonged to the highly respected Mian Family of Baghbanpura, Lahore. He received his early education at Central Model School Lahore, and got his BA from Forman Christian College and a Tripos and Masters from Christ's College Cambridge. In 1913, he was called to the Bar from the Inner Temple London.

He started practicing law at Lahore in 1913. He was appointed Assistant Legal Remembrancer in March 1925. From 1927 to 1931 he officiated as Government of Punjab's Advocate. He was appointed as Judge Lahore High Court in 1933. In 1946, he was made Chief Justice of Judicature at Lahore.

On 15th August 1947, when Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was sworn in as the first Governor General of Pakistan, Mian Sir Abdul Rashid, First Chief Justice of Pakistan and as senior most muslim judge in British India, administered the oath of office to him.

Sir Abdul Rashid was elevated as the Chief Justice of Pakistan on 27 June 1949. He remained Chief Justice till 29 June 1954. He acted as the President of Khuro Inquiry Commission from 28 May 1948 to 11 February 1949. He also acted as Governor General for 9 months, from April 1953 till December 1953. He was decorated with Hilal-e-Pakistan, Pakistan's highest civilian honour. After retirement as Chief Justice, he was appointed Chairman of the Family Laws Commission whose recommendations were subsequently enacted into law by the Family Laws Ordinances. He died on 6 November 1981.

In 2005, Government of Pakistan honoured Justice Sir Mian Abdul Rashid, by naming a main road (7th Aveneue) after him in the federal capital, Islamabad. The former Seventh Avenue down to Khayaban-i-Suhrawardy and the Kashmir Highway has been renamed "Justice Sir Mian Abdul Rashid Avenue". ( [http://www.dawn.com/2005/09/02/nat15.htm] Daily Dawn, 2nd Sep' 2005)

See also

* List of Pakistanis
* Chief Justice of Pakistan

References

* [http://www.opf.org.pk/almanac/J/judicary.htm Biography on the Judiciary Section of the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation's Encyclopedia of Pakistan]
* [http://www.scp50.gov.pk/former.htm List of former Judges of the Pakistani Supreme Court]