Abdul Hafeez Pirzada

Abdul Hafeez Pirzada
عبدالحفیظ پیرزادہ
12th Minister of Finance, Revenue & Economic Affairs
In office
30 March 1977 – 5 July 1977
PresidentFazal Ilahi Chaudhry
Prime MinisterZulfikar Ali Bhutto
Preceded byRana Hanif Khan
Succeeded byGhulam Ishaq Khan
Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs
In office
14 August 1973 – 30 March 1977
PresidentFazal Illahi Chaudhry
Prime MinisterZulfikar Ali Bhutto
Preceded byMahmud Ali Kasuri
Succeeded bySharifuddin Pirzada
Minister for Information
In office
20 December 1971 – 13 August 1973
PresidentZulfikar Ali Bhutto
Preceded byRoedad Khan
Personal details
Born(1935-02-24)24 February 1935
Sukkur, British India
Died1 September 2015(2015-09-01) (aged 80)
Reading, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom
Resting placeSukkur, Pakistan
Political partyPakistan People's Party
(1968–1980)
OccupationLawyer

Abdul Hafeez Pirzada (Urdu: عبدالحفیظ پیرزادہ; 24 February 1935 – 1 September 2015) was a Pakistani lawyer, legal theorist, and politician, who served variously as minister for information, minister for law, minister for finance, and minister for education under president and later prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from 1971 to 1977. As law minister, he is credited as a principal draftsman of the Constitution of Pakistan, passed in 1973.

Trained as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn, Pirzada was a founding member of the Pakistan People's Party. He was elected to the National Assembly in the elections of 1970, holding several ministerial portfolios in the Bhutto government. After the government was deposed by General Zia-ul-Haq in 1977, Pirzada unsuccessfully assisted with Bhutto's defence in his criminal trial for murder. He briefly led the PPP before being imprisoned by the Zia regime, eventually leaving the party over differences with Benazir Bhutto, and retiring from politics.

Returning to private practice, Pirzada rose to Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court, becoming one of the country's leading lawyers.[1] He died of medical complications in Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, on 1 September 2015. He is cited as the 'Father of the Pakistani Constitution'.[2]

  1. ^ "Govt on collision course with SC". The Nation. 9 June 2011. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  2. ^ Mansoor, Hasan. "Profile: Abdul Hafeez Pirzada – a lawyer par excellence". DAWN.com. Dawn News.