Mukhtiar Ahmad Junejo

Mukhtar Ahmad Junejo
Former Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan
Personal details
Born	2 September 1940 (1940-09-02) (age 71) Sindh, Pakistan
Nationality	Pakistani

Honorable Mr. Justice Mukhtar Ahmad Junejo (Urdu: مختار احمد جونیجو), (Sindhi: مختار احمد جوڻيجو) is a highly respected name of the Pakistani judiciary. He was a senior judge of The Supreme Court of Pakistan and former acting Chief Election Commissioner. He is the member of syndicate, University of Sindh (Jamshoro) and The member of Lawyer Committee at SZABIST.

Junejo was born at Village Paat Sharif in Sindh to a landlord, Asmatullah Junejo. After completing his education in Law, he became the prominent lawyer of Karachi and Lahore, and was known for his integrity and hard-work. He married Rabiya Kazi (Sister of Dr. Mutawakkil Kazi).

He was the judge of Supreme court of Pakistan between October 19, 1994 and February 19, 1998, till he retired from office. As an acting Chief Election Commissioner, Justice Mukhtar Junejo rejected the nomination papers of PML-N presidential candidate Justice Rafiq Tarar for making derogatory remarks against judiciary. He rejected the nomination papers of Mr. Tarar under Article 63 (g) of the Constitution and conveyed the decision to Senator Anwar Bhinder, counsel for Mr. Tarar. Mr. Tarar was not present when his nomination papers were rejected, however, his covering candidate Capt (retd) Halim Siddique and several other members of the ruling party were there. He accepted nomination papers of six other candidates, including Capt Halim Siddique, Aftab Shahban Mirani, Senator Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and Maulana Mohammad Khan Shirani, a JUI MNA. This took him in conflict with Nawaz Sharif. In a seven-page order released later Justice Junejo said: “I am of the view that case of Mr Tarar is covered by sub-clause (g) of clause (1) of Article 63 of the Constitution and since he cannot be elected as member of parliament, hence in terms of Article 41(2) of the Constitution of Pakistan, he cannot be elected as president of Pakistan. I therefore, reject his nomination papers.” Article 63 (1)(g) reads: “A person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (parliament), if he is propagating any opinion, or acting in any manner, prejudicial to the ideology of Pakistan, or the sovereignty, integrity or security of Pakistan, or morality, or the maintenance of public order, or the integrity or independence of the judiciary of Pakistan, or which defames or brings into ridicule the judiciary or the Armed Forces of Pakistan.” There has always been a tacit understanding that the Prime Minister and the President should be from different provinces. With Tarar's appointment, that tradition has been ignored, to the chagrin of Sindh, Baluchistan and the NWFP. Although Tarar had taken his oath of office, his election was to be overturned by the court.

After Benazir Bhutto's return to Pakistan in 2007, she wanted Junejo to be the part of the interim Government, but unfortunately she died on 27 December 2007. In 2010, President Asif Ali Zardari nominated his name as the Chairman of National Accountability Bureau of Pakistan (NAB), but his nomination was rejected by opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan of PML-N, blaming him to be a supporter of PPP.

References

1.http://www.ecp.gov.pk/content/Report97President.html

2.http://www.southeastasianews.net/story/293283

3.http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Library/9803/cowasjee/fascism_iii.html&date=2009-10-25+06:59:38

Persondata
Name	Junejo, Mukhtar Ahmad
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	2 September 1940
Place of birth	Sindh, Pakistan
Date of death
Place of death