Mir Hazar Khan Khoso (, ) (30 September 1929 – 26 June 2021) was a Pakistani jurist who was the

caretaker prime minister of Pakistan The Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan ( ur, ) is the acting head of government in Pakistan following the dissolution of the National Assembly. The purpose of this post is to ensure free and fair elections are held. The most recent Caretaker ...

from 25 March to 5 June 2013. Khoso was a judge who previously served as the chief justice of the

Federal Shariat Court The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) is a constitutional court of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which has the power to examine and determine whether the laws of the country comply with Sharia law. The court was established in 1980 during the gove ...

and served as the interim prime minister ahead of the

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

scheduled in May 2013.

Personal life

Khoso was born in Goth Azam Khan village in the Jaffarabad District of the South-East

Balochistan Province Balochistan (; bal, بلۏچستان; ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It shares land ...

of Pakistan, on 30 September 1929. During his youth, Khoso participated actively in 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 ...

and noted

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 ...

as his inspiration. Khoso attended the

Sindh University The University of Sindh ( ur, ; sd, سنڌ يونيورسٽي; informally known as Sindh University) is a public research university in Pakistan located in the city of Jamshoro. It is one of the oldest universities in Pakistan and was certifi ...

in 1950 and graduated with BA degree in 1954. After two years, Khoso secured a bachelor's degree in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

from

Karachi University The University of Karachi ( sd, ; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh ...

. He was public prosecutor at Jacobabad, Sindh from 1966 to 1976. He was a professor in Government at Law College Quetta, Balochistan. He was also selected as a judge of the Supreme Court Pakistan from 1994 to 1996. He was also a member of Pakistan Public Service Commission from 1986 to 2001. He was chairman of the Sacked Employees Board for reinstatement. Khoso died on 26 June 2021 at the age of 91.

Judicial career

Khoso began his professional career in 1957 as a lawyer of then

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was ...

Karachi Bench and then became a Supreme Court lawyer in 1980. He was chosen to become a judge at

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 ...

in 1977 and served in that position for the next two years. He was reappointed an additional judge in March 1985 and was confirmed as a permanent judge of the provincial high court in 1987. He was elevated as the chief justice of

in 1989. He was appointed

Governor of Balochistan The Governor of Balochistan is the head of the province of Balochistan, Pakistan. The post was established on 1 July 1970, after the dissolution of West Pakistan province and the end of One Unit. Under Pakistan's current parliamentary system, the ...

twice but for brief periods. Firstly, he governed the province from 25 June until 12 July in 1990, and then from 13 March 1991 until 13 July in 1991. After reaching superannuation and thus retirement from the judicial services, Khoso was appointed a judge of the Federal Shariat Court that rules according to Islamic injunction. After assuming his new responsibilities in 1991, the next year he was promoted as the chief justice of the Shariat Court and continued to be in this position till 1994. Khoso served as the Balochistan Chairman of the

Zakat Council Zakat Councils are responsible for collecting and distributing the Islamic taxes known as ''Zakat'' and '' Ushr'' in Pakistan. The councils are overseen by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. In Pakistan, the system of compulsory collection and ...

. For a long time, Khoso steered clear of politics, focusing mainly on his responsibilities at the Zakat Council. Due to his efforts, his home-district (Jaffarabad) has two Session Courts. Khoso fought for rights for females to become educated.

Prime Minister of Pakistan

The

Election Commission of Pakistan The Election Commission of Pakistan ( ur, ; ECP) is an independent, autonomous, permanent and constitutionally established federal body responsible for organizing and conducting elections to the national parliament, provincial legislatures, l ...

(ECP) appointed Khoso as the caretaker

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pa ...

on 24 March 2013, out of four nominees coming from both the opposition and the dissolved government. He took oath on 25 March 2013.

Federal cabinet

On 2 April 2013, the fourteen-member caretaker federal cabinet, as nominated by Khoso, took their oath administered by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakist ...

at the

Aiwan-e-Sadr The Aiwan-e-Sadr ( ur, ), or Presidential Palace, is the official residence and workplace of the President of Pakistan. It is located in northeastern Islamabad on Constitution Avenue, between the Parliament Building and the Cabinet block of t ...

in Islamabad. Among the ministers sworn in included Arif Nizami, Sohail Wajahat H Siddique, Shahzada Ahsan Ashraf Sheikh, Malik Habib, Ahmer Bilal Soofi, Dr Musaddiq Malik, Maqbool HH Rahmatoola, Abdul Malik Kasi, Asadullah Mandokhel, Mir Hassan Domki, Dr Sania Nishtar, Feroze Jamal Shah Kakakhel, Dr Younis Soomro and Shahzada Jamal. The interim cabinet included seven members from the

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 a ...

, three each from Sindh and

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. ...

, and two from

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

. The Khoso caretaker ministry served till the Third Sharif ministry took office after general elections in May 2013.

References

External links