Qazi Muhammad Isa ( ur, ); (17 July 1914 – 19 June 1976) was a Pakistani

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and one of the prominent leaders of the

Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...

.Profile of Qazi Muhammad Essa on storyofpakistan.com website
Retrieved 27 August 2021http://www.humsafar.info/pio_qazi_mohammad_isa.php, Profile of Qazi Muhammad Essa on humsafar.info website, Retrieved 23 January 2017

Early life and career

Qazi Muhammad Isa was born on 17 July 1914 in

Pishin District Pishin ( bal, پشین, ps, پښين, ur, ), IPA: pʂin/pçin, is a district in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. In 1975 it was separated from Quetta District, while in 1994 part of it was split off to form the new district of Killa Ab ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

. He received his basic education in

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of ...

. In 1933, he went to England for higher studies and received his law degree from

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 ...

, London. After returning to British India, he started practicing law in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second-m ...

in 1938 where he first met

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 ...

. He participated in the formation of the first Muslim political party in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

, (

Muslim league Muslim League may refer to: Political parties Subcontinent ; British India *All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan. **Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...

)

before 1947. He was from a Sunni Hazara tribe, Sheikh Ali, which migrated from

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

, Afghanistan to Pishin in Balochistan, Pakistan. "After having been called to Bar in January 1939, he returned home and met Quaide-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah in Bombay. He was so impressed with his ideas and personality that on his return to Balochistan, he founded the All-India Muslim League in his province." He played a key role in the

and was one of the trusted lieutenants of Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He was the youngest member of the Working Committee of the

All-India Muslim League The All-India Muslim League (AIML) was a political party established in Dhaka in 1906 when a group of prominent Muslim politicians met the Viceroy of British India, Lord Minto, with the goal of securing Muslim interests on the Indian subcont ...

and as President of the Baluchistan Provincial Muslim League, he quickly organized the party throughout the province and played a key role in the 'Vote for Pakistan movement' and in the historical referendum of the then

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followi ...

. Qazi Essa travelled more than 300,000 miles to campaign for the Pakistan Movement between 1940 and 1947. He represented Balochistan in the 1940

Lahore Resolution The Lahore Resolution ( ur, , ''Qarardad-e-Lahore''; Bengali: লাহোর প্রস্তাব, ''Lahor Prostab''), also called Pakistan resolution, was written and prepared by Muhammad Zafarullah Khan and was presented by A. K. Fazlul ...

(''Qarardad-e-Lahore'' قرارداد لاھور), commonly known as the Pakistan Resolution (قرارداد پاکستان ''Qarardad-e-Pakistan''). His nephew,

Ashraf Jehangir Qazi Ashraf Jehangir Qazi ( ur, اشرف جہانگیر قاضی; born 1942) is a Pakistani diplomat who has held several national and international appointments, including serving with the United Nations. Early life and career In 2004, UN Secreta ...

, has been a Pakistani High Commissioner in India, Pakistan's

Permanent representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

in UNO and UN Secretary General Special Representative in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. Qazi Essa's son

Qazi Faez Isa Qazi Faez Isa ( ur, , born 26 October 1959) is a justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan since 5 September 2014. Previously, he served as Chief Justice of the Balochistan High Court from 5 August 2009 to 5 September 2014. Early life and educ ...

became Chief Justice of

Balochistan High Court The Balochistan High Court ( ur, ) is the highest judicial institution of Balochistan, Pakistan. The court is formally known as the High Court of Balochistan. It is situated in the provincial capital, Quetta. Mir Ali Dost Bugti was the firs ...

on 5 August 2009. He later took oath as a Judge of the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

on 5 September 2014.Profile of Justice Qazi Faez Isa (son of Qazi Muhammad Essa) on supremecourt.gov.pk website
Retrieved 27 August 2021 Later, Qazi Muhammad Isa served as Ambassador of Pakistan to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

from 1951 to 1953. He also was a member of Pakistan delegations to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

in 1950, 1954 and 1974. He was appointed member of the Committee on Minorities in the first

Constituent Assembly of Pakistan The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan ( bn, পাকিস্তান গণপরিষদ, Pākistān Goṇoporishod; ur, , Aāin Sāz Asimblī) was established in August 1947 to frame a constitution for Pakistan. It also served as its first ...

Commemorative postage stamp issued in 1990

* Pakistan Postal Services issued a commemorative postage stamp in Qazi Muhammad Isa's honor in its 'Pioneers of Freedom' series in 1990.

Death and legacy

Qazi Muhammad Isa died on 19 June 1976. Qazi Isa devotedly served the Muslim League for 37 years. Among his survivors are some notable Pakistani personalities. One of them is his son Justice

who is a judge in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and a nephew

who has held many prominent diplomatic positions in the service of Pakistan.

References

Bibliography

* Francis Robinson (1997), ''The Muslims and Partition'', History Today, Vol. 47 * {{Pakistan Movement 1914 births 1976 deaths Pakistani Muslims People from Quetta Pakistan Muslim League politicians All India Muslim League members Leaders of the Pakistan Movement Pakistani people of Hazara descent Hazara people Hazara politicians Qazi family Pakistan Movement activists from Balochistan Ambassadors of Pakistan to Brazil

Early life and career

Commemorative postage stamp issued in 1990

Death and legacy

See also

References

Bibliography