This week our neighbors elected a new President. So it would be appropriate to give honours to a Jalandhari who served as the President of our neighboring country not once but twice though for shorter durations.
Not many Indians are aware about him, but he is still the serving senate member in Pakistan. March 1941 in Jalandhar, Punjab (Now in India). He spent his childhood days at Army Burn Hall College, Abbottabad, from where he completed his O and A Levels . His father, the late Mr Justice Sajjad Ahmed Jan, served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and later as the Chief Election Commissioner. Wasim Sajjad would follow in his footsteps, becoming a lawyer, and attending Wadham College, Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship.
Education:
He took a degree in Jurisprudence in 1966, and the Degree of Bachelor of Civil Law from Oxford University in 1967. He was also awarded an M. A. from the University of Oxford in 1967. He obtained first position in Administrative Law at Oxford and was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple, London. At Oxford, Wasim Sajjad was also the President of the Oxford University Islamic Society in 1966, and President of the Oxford University Pakistan Society from 1965 to 1966. He was elected President Oxford University Birkenhead Society 1965-1967, and as Secretary of Wadham College, Oxford, in 1966. He later graduated in 1964.
Political career and President of Pakistan:
His political career began in the 1980s when he was elected to the Pakistani Senate. He served as the Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary affairs, and also held the portfolio of the Federal Minister for Interior, under the Government of Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo. He moved up to Chairman of the Senate in 1988, and served his first term as President in 1993, following the resignation of Ghulam Ishaq Khan. As interim president, Sajjad was essentially a placeholder for the office until elections were completed. He would run in the election for President, but was defeated by Farooq Leghari. In 1997, Sajjad was again made interim President and stepped down upon the election of Muhammad Rafiq Tarar.
In 2002, Sajjad was accused of mis-use of government vehicles and phones, amounting to millions of rupees. He was ordered to pay a fine, but served no time in jail.
Current Position:
Senator Party Affiliation: PML Gender: Male Home Phone: 92-051-2240903 Office Phone: 92-051-9223503-4 Fax: 9223505 Address: H.No.12-A, P&V Street 6, Scheeme-II, Park Road, Chak Shahzad, Islamabad.
Committee(s): Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Kashmir Affairs and Northern AreasStanding Committee on Law, Justice and Human Rights and Parliamentary AffairsCommittee on Rules of Procedure and PrivilegesFinanace Committee
Details: Tenure = March 2006 to March 2012
M.A. LL.B (Punjab)M.A. (Oxon)B.C.L. (Oxon)Barrister-at-Law of The Inner Temple London.
Mr. Wasim Sajjad, Leader of the House was elected to the Senate in 1985, 1991, 1997 in 2003. He was elected Chairman of the Senate for four consecutive terms in 1988, 1991, 1994 & 1997. Mr. Wasim Sajjad graduated from the University of Punjab in 1961.
Mr. Wasim Sajjad graduated from the University of the Punjab in 1961 obtaining first class with honours in English. He stood first in FEL examination of the Punjab University in 1962 and 1963 winning gold medals in both examinations. He won another gold medal in 1964 by securing first position in M.A(Political Science). He won the Ruchi Ram Sahni Declamation and Krishan Kishore Grover Declaration prizes of the Punjab University.
Mr. Wasim Sajjad has been practising Law in the High Courts and the Supreme Court of Pakistan since 1966. He appeared in a large number of cases of Constitutional and Legal importance.
He attended the International Asian Cricket Conference at New Delhi in 1983 to draft a constitution for the Conference. He has attended several international conferences including the International Parliamentary Conferences in Sophia (Belgrade) and Madrid (Spain) as Leader of the Pakistan delegation.
He was nominated to the Eminent Person Group of the O.I.C by the Government of Pakistan. He is the recipient of the Highest Diplomatic Award by the Government of South Korea.
The Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan has accepted the resignation tendered by Senator Wasim Sajjad as Leader of the House in the Senate with effect from 25th March 2008.
Achievments:
He was selected for Rhodes Scholarship from Pakistan for studies at Oxford University in 1964 and obtained honours in jurisprudence from there in 1966. He also obtained the Post-Graduate degree of B.C.L (Bachelor of Civil Laws) from Oxford University in 1967. He is a Barrister from the Inner Temple, London. He is an honorary fellow of Wadham College Oxford (U.K).
During his academic career, Mr. Wasim Sajjad had the distinction of being the President of different societies of the institutions where he studied. At Oxford, he was the President of the Islamic Society and the Pakistan Society. He was also the President of Oxford Birkenhead Society. He has been holding the position of Secretary, Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee for Pakistan since 1981. He has also been teaching at the Law College, Lahore as part-time lecturer from 1967-77.
He was elected to the Senate as a technocrat from Punjab in 1985 and again in 1991. He held the Cabinet portfolio as the Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs from 28th September, 1986 to 1st December, 1988. He has also held the portfolio of the Ministry of Interior. He has acted as President of Pakistan on several occasions and also during the critical period when in July, 1993, the then President had to resign and there was a vacuum in the leadership in the country. During the period that he held the office of President, fresh elections were held for the National Assembly and the Provincial Assemblies and a smooth transfer of powers was made to the new elected Government.
Source: Pakistan Govt. and Wikipedia