Sir Mian Abdul Rashid, KCSI ( ur, ; 29 June 1889 – 6 November 1981) was the first Chief Justice of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
founding fathers
The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...
of
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, and a
jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...
.
Education
He was born on 29 June 1889 in a well-known Arain family, namely
Mian family of Baghbanpura
Belonging to the Arain tribe of Punjab region, they are an aristocratic noble family originally from Areha Jericho Modern Palestine who entered in Indian Subcontinent with Umayyad Arab General Muhammad bin Qasim. The family has made great contrib ...
of
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
. He received his early education at Central Model School in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
in 1912.
In 1913, he was called to the Bar from the
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...
, London.
Law career
He started practising law at
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the List ...
and later shifted to
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
in 1913 where he joined the chambers of
Mian Muhammad Shafi
Sir Mian Muhammad Shafi, (10 March 1869 – 7 January 1932) was a lawyer and politician from British India.Shadi Lal
Sir Shadi Lal (14 May 1874 – 27 March 1945) was an Indian jurist. He served as the Chief Justice of Lahore High Court between 1920 and 1934, the first Indian head of an Indian high court.
Born in Rewari, Punjab Province, Lal was educated a ...
, who was then Chief Justice of the said court. From 1927 to 1931, he officiated as Government of
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
's Advocate. He was appointed Judge, Lahore High Court in 1933. In 1946, he was made Chief Justice of Judicature at Lahore, and was knighted in that year's Birthday Honours list.
First Chief Justice of Pakistan
On 15 August 1947, when Quaid-i-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...
was sworn in as the first
Governor-General of Pakistan
The governor-general of Pakistan ( ur, ) was the representative of the Pakistani monarch in the Dominion of Pakistan, established by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The office of governor-general was abolished when Pakistan became an Islami ...
, Rashid, as the most senior
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
judge in
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
, administered the oath of office to him.
Awards and recognition
* In 2005, the
Government of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...
honoured him by naming a main road (7th Avenue) after him in the federal capital,
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...
. The former Seventh Avenue down to Khayaban-i-Suhrawardy and the Kashmir Highway has been renamed ''Justice Sir Mian Abdul Rashid Avenue''.
* Hilal-e-Pakistan (Crescent of Pakistan) Award by the
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.List of Pakistanis
*
Chief Justice of Pakistan
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The Chief Justice of Pakistan (Urdu: ) (Initialism, initials as CJP) is head of the court system of Pakistan (the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicature branch of Government of Pakistan, government) and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Paki ...