Quetta کوټه کوئٹہ
—  City District  —
Quetta City at night
Quetta Location in Pakistan
Coordinates: 30°12′38″N 67°1′8″E / 30.21056°N 67.01889°E / 30.21056; 67.01889Coordinates: 30°12′38″N 67°1′8″E / 30.21056°N 67.01889°E / 30.21056; 67.01889
Country	Pakistan
Region	Balochistan
District	Quetta District
Autonomous towns	2
Union councils	66[1]
Government
• Type	city
• Nazim	Mir Maqbool Ahmed Lehri
• Naib nazim	Mohammad Naseem Lehri
Area
• Total	2,653 km2 (1,024 sq mi)
Elevation	1,900 m (6,230 ft)
Population (2010)[2]
• Total	896,090
• Density	213/km2 (550/sq mi)
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC+6)
Area code(s)	081

Quetta (Pashto: کوټه, Urdu: کوئٹہ  pronunciation (help·info)) is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the Fruit Garden of Balochistan due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains rare wildlife.

The city is situated at an average elevation of 1,680 meters (5,500 ft) above sea level,^[3] making it Pakistan's only high-altitude major city. Located in a river valley, Quetta derives its name from the Pashto word "Kuwatta", which means "a fort".^[3]

Sitting near the Durand Line border with Afghanistan and close to Kandahar province, Quetta is a trade and communications center between the two countries as well as an important military location which occupies a strategic position for the Pakistani Armed Forces. The city lies on the Bolan Pass route which was once the only gateway to and from South Asia. Due to its proximity to Afghanistan and Central Asia, the city is a major stronghold along the western frontier of the country.

Etymology[link]

Quetta is also spelled Kuwatah which is a variation of Kot, a Pashto word meaning "fortress."^[4] It is believed the city's name is derived from the four imposing hills (Chiltan, Takatu, Zarghoon and Murdaar) that surround the city and form a natural bulwark. (Brahvi and Pashto are the Local Languages)

History[link]

Quetta cantonment, 1889

The area was inhabited by Kasi Tribe Pashtun. The first detailed account of Quetta is from the 11th century when it was captured by Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi during one of his invasions of the South Asia. In 1543, the Mughal emperor Humayun rested in Quetta on his retreat to Safavid Persia, leaving his one-year-old son Akbar in the city until his return two years later. In 1828 the first westerner to visit Quetta described it as a mud-walled fort surrounded by three hundred mud houses.

Although the city was occupied briefly in 1839 by the British during the First Afghan War, it was not until 1876 that Quetta became part of the British colonial empire, with Robert Sandeman being made the political leader for Balochistan. The arrival of British troops led to the establishment of road and rail links and the introduction of schools, mainly for strategic purposes.

The British made the largely Pashtun area part of British Balochistan. In April 1883 it was combined with Pishin into a single administrative unit.

By the time of the earthquake on 31 May 1935 Quetta had developed into a bustling city with a number of multistory buildings. The epicentre of the earthquake was close to the city and destroyed most of the city's infrastructure and killed an estimated 40,000 people. After many years the city has been rebuilt mainly with local funds. Structures are now generally earthquake resistant, being mainly single story structures with bricks and re-inforced concrete. However multi-story buildings are also built, while a number of buildings of three to five floors are being constructed in the city.

On joining Pakistan, Quetta was made the capital city of the newly created province of Balochistan before it was combined with other Balochi princely states (Kalat, Makran, Lasbela and Kharan) to form the Baloch province. Quetta remained the capital of the province until 1971 when the provincial system was abolished under Zulfiqar Bhutto. After Bhutto was overthrown by General Zia ul Haq, the provincial system was re-instated, and Quetta was once again made capital of Balochistan.

Demography[link]

Quetta was historically part of Afghanistan until it was leased to British Empire through a treaty in between Afghan Mir and British Raj in mid of 19th century. The city in general is dominated by Pashtun people followed by Baloch with Hazaras, Punjabi and others as the minority groups.

Pashto is the language spoken by majority of Quetta residents. Other languages include Brahui, Balochi, Urdu, Saraiki, Hazaragi, Sindhi, and Punjabi. The city has expanded from a population of 11,000 in 1891 to a total of between 1,865,137 and 2,076,941 according to the 2012 reports which makes it the 6th largest city in Pakistan.^[5][6]

Geography and climate[link]

Quetta has a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) with a significant variation between summer and winter temperatures. Summer starts in late May and goes on until early September with average temperatures ranging from 24–26 °C (75–78 °F).The highest temperature in Quetta is 42 °C (108 °F) which was recorded on 10 July 1998.^[7] Autumn starts in late September and continues until mid-November with average temperatures in the 12–18 °C (55–65 °F) range. Winter starts in late November and ends in late March, with average temperatures near 4–5 °C (39–41 °F).The lowest temperature in Quetta is −18.3 °C (−0.9400000 °F) which was recorded on 8 January 1970.^[7] Spring starts in early April and ends in late May, with average temperatures close to 15 °C (60 °F). Unlike more easterly parts of Pakistan, Quetta does not have a monsoon season of heavy rainfall. Highest rainfall during 24 hours in Quetta is 113 millimetres (4.4 in) which was recorded on 17 December 2000.,^[7] Highest monthly rainfall is 232.4 millimetres (9.15 in) which was recorded in March, 1982.^[7] and the highest annual rainfall is 949.8 millimetres (37.39 in) recorded in 1982.^[7] In the winter snow is the principle precipitation with snow falling mostly in the months of December, January and February.

The city saw a severe drought from 1999 to 2001, during the drought the city did not receive snowfall and received below normal rains. In 2003 the city received snowfall after a long period of five years. In 2004, and 2005 the city received normal rains after three years with snowfall while in 2006, 2007 and 2009 the city received no snow except in 2008 when Quetta received a snowfall of four inches in four hours on 29 January 2008.^[8] On 2 February 2008 Quetta received ten inches of snow in just 10 hours^[9] which was the heaviest snowfall for the city in the last ten years. During the winter of 2010 it received no snow and saw below normal rains due to the presence of El-Nino over Pakistan.^[10]

Quetta has an area of 2,653 km² (1,024 sq mi) and consists of series of valleys which act as a natural fort surrounded on all sides by hills named Chiltan, Takatoo, Murdar and Zarghun. There are no natural boundaries between Quetta and its adjoining districts of Dera Ismail Khan to the northeast, Dera Ghazi Khan and Sibi to the east, Sukkur and Jacobabad to the southeast, Karachi and Gawadar to the south and Ziarat to the northeast. The closest major city is Kandahar in Afghanistan which is located to the west of the Quetta.

Government and politics[link]

Under the latest revision of Pakistan's administrative structure, promulgated in 2001,^[11] Quetta was restructured as a City District, and divided into two towns^[12][13] Each town in turn consists of a group of union councils (U.C.'s).^[14]:

Transport[link]

Quetta is on the western edge of Pakistan and is connected to the rest of the country by a network of roads, railways and airways.

Quetta International Airport

At an altitude of 1,605 metres (5,260 ft) above sea level, Quetta Airport is the second highest airport in Pakistan. Pakistan International Airlines has regular flights between Quetta and the other major cities of Pakistan including Islamabad, Gwadar, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar while Pakistan International Airlines operates direct flights to Manchester, Dubai, New York and other major international airports.

Quetta Railway Station is one of the highest railway station in Pakistan at 1,676 metres (5,495 ft) above sea level. The railway track was laid in the 1890s during the British era to link Quetta with rest of the country. The extensive network of Pakistan Railways connects Quetta to Karachi in south, by a 863 km (536 mi) track, Lahore in northeast (1,170 km or 727 miles) and Peshawar further northeast (1,587 km or 986 miles). A metalled road runs alongside the railway that connects Quetta to Karachi via Sibi, Jacobabad and Rohri.

A track from the Iranian city of Zahedan links to Quetta via Taftan, Balochistan. Service was temporarily discontinued in 2006 due to unrest in Balochistan. Since 2008 railway service has come under attack by the Balochs, especially in the Bolan Pass area resulting in a bomb blast on the railway tracks and firing on trains.

Quetta Railway Station

There has been a proposal to construct a railway track that will link Gawadar to China and Gawadar with Quetta via Kalat. Although the distance from Quetta to Lahore is only 700 km (430 mi), there is no direct track on this route because of the Sulaiman Range that lies in the east of Quetta. All northeast-bound trains for Punjab or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa must first go over 350 km (220 mi) south to Rohri, Sindh (near Sukkur) before continuing north to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Quetta is connected by metalled roads to the rest of the country. A road connects it with Karachi through Mastung, Kalat, Khuzdar and Lasbela. Other major roads are Quetta to Karachi following the Sibi, Jacobabad, Sukkur and Hyderabad route and two roads from Quetta to Lahore one (the older) via Sibi, Sukkur, Rahim Yar Khan, Bahawalpur and Multan the other route via Khanozai, Muslimbagh Loralai, Fort Mondro, Dera Ghazi Khan and Multan. Quetta is connected with Afghanistan through Chaman and to Iran through Mastung, Nushki, Dalbandin and Taftan.

Educational institutions[link]

Quetta has a number of institutions of higher education. The military Command and Staff College was founded by the British in 1905, its centennial was celebrated in 2005. The city is home to the University of Balochistan established in 1974, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, (BUITAMS) Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University, Bolan Medical College, Agricultural institute, the Geological Survey of Pakistan, the Sandeman Library and many government and private colleges.

Flora and fauna[link]

Mammals such as Markhor (wild sheep), leopards, wolves, hyena, rabbits, wild cats and porcupines are to be found in the Quetta region. Local birds species include partridge, warblers, shikra, the blue rock pigeon, rock nuthatch, golden eagle, sparrows, hawks, falcons and bearded vultures. A total of 225 species of flora have been identified in the area including pistachios, juniper, wild olives, wild ash and wild almonds. Also found are shrubs including wild fig, barbery, wild cherry, makhi and herbs such as ephedra intermadia and gerardiana.

Local attractions[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Hanna Lake in winter

Hanna Lake, which nestles in the hills ten kilometres (six miles) east of the city, is a turquoise body of water that contrasts markedly with the bare surrounding hills. It is an attractive destination for vacationers, with facilities for boat hire. A lakeside restaurant is crowded with hikers and campers during holiday periods. At one end there is an irrigation dam, while on the eastern shore there is Hayat Durrani Water Sports Academy, the only water sports training center in Balochistan Province. The Hanna Lake Development Authority, the Hayat Durrani Water Sports Academy and Merck Marker have planted a range of trees in the Hanna Lake Mountains both for beautification and the protection of the environment.

The Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, 20 km (12 mi) south-west of Quetta, Markhors is a protected park area. The name of the park, "Hazarganji" literally means "Of a thousand treasures" is spread over 32,500 acres (132 km²) at an altitude ranging from 2,021 to 3,264 metres (5,625 to 10,700 feet). In the folds of the mountains, according to legend, there are over a thousand buried treasures, reminders of the passage over the ages of great armies including the Bactrians, the Scythians, the Muslims, and the Mongols.^{[citation needed]} Pir Ghaib is a waterfall and picnic spot located 70 km from the Quetta City in hisotric Bolan valley. Kharkhasa is located 10 km (6.2 mi) west of Quetta in a 16 km (9.9 mi) long narrow valley that contains a variety of flora and fauna species. The Chiltan Hill Viewpoint in the park provides a panoramic view of the city. A visit to the nearby cities of Kirani and Ziarat are popular scenic places for tourists travelling to and from Quetta.

The Quetta Geological Museum, located on Sariab Road has a collection of rocks and fossils found in Balochistan. The Command and Staff College Museum is a museum dedicated to British military history. It is housed in the former bungalow of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The Quetta Archaeological Museum, located on Fifa Road has a collection of rare antique guns, swords, manuscripts and a display of Stone Age tools, prehistoric pottery and articles found in Mehrgarh. There are also coins, manuscripts and photos of Quetta before the 1935 earthquake. The Balochistan Arts Council Library houses arts and crafts from Balochistan province.

Festivals and shopping[link]

Cultural and religious festivals are held in the city every year. The two Eid festivals which mark the end of fasting and the end of the Hajj allow the majority Muslim community to put on musical shows, distribute sweets and presents. Buzkashi is a festival celebrated by Pashtuns in which two teams on horse-back attempt to snatch a goat from each other.

Quetta's bazaars are the Shahrah-e-Liaquat (Liaquat Bazaar and Suraj Gang Bazaar and the Shahrah-e-Iqbal (Kandahari Bazaar). Colorful handicrafts are sold, particularly Balochi mirror work and Pashtun embroidery. Afghan rugs, fur coats, embroidered jackets, waistcoats, sandals, and other traditional Pashtun items are also sold.

Balochi carpets are made by the nomadic tribes of the area. They are generally not as fine or as expensive as either the Persian products or the Turkoman tribal rugs from further north, but they are generally more authentic than the copies of Turkoman and Persian designs often found in the major cities of Pakistan.

Food[link]

For those interested in local cuisine, there are many dishes to try. The Balochi Saji and other Balochi Trible delicious dishes are available around the city especially at Prince Road, Jinnah Road, Serena Hotles. The Pashtun tribal cuisine “Roash” which non-locals call “Namkin” is to be found in both city restaurants as well as in the outlying areas. Some of the finest mutton in the country is raised around Quetta and is a mainstay of local cuisine. The Pashtun tribal dish, “Landhi”, is made of a whole lamb which is dried and kept fresh during the cold winters. "Khadi Kebab" is a lamb barbecue while "Sajji" (leg of lamb) and "Pulao" are other local dishes. Restaurants include Usmania, Tabaq, Green Hotel, Gulab Hotel, Lal Kabab, and the Abasin Hotel all of which serve both Pakistani and western food while the Cafe China is one of the oldest Chinese restaurants. Small hotels located along Alamdar road provide accommodation for tourists.

Sports[link]

In Quetta, unlike most of Pakistan, football rather than cricket is the most popular sport. Football teams from Quetta include Quetta Zorawar, Afghan Football Club, Hazara Green Football, Baluch Football and Quetta Bazigars Club. In cricket, Quetta is home to the Quetta Bears. In hockey, Quetta has produced Zeeshan Ashraf and Shakeel Abbasi, who are members of the Pakistan national hockey team. In mountain climbing and caving, Hayatullah Khan Durrani (Pride of Performance), the chief executive of Hayat Durrani Water Sports Academy at Hanna Lake. In kayaking, Muhammad Abubakar Durrani, National Junior Champion was selected for the world Junior Canoeing Championship in 2009 in Moscow.^{[citation needed]} In boxing Olympians from Quetta include: Shaheed Abrar Hussain Hazara killed by LeJ, Abdul Salam Khan Kakar, Asghar Ali Changezi and Haider Ali Changezi.weight lifting Dilawar Khan Khilji, Mohammad Rafiq Khan Khilji and Mohammad Alam Khan Kakar were famous weightlifters.^{[citation needed]}

The Shaheed Nauoroz Stadium is the largest stadium in the city. The city also has Ayub National Stadium, a multipurpose stadium used for football and cricket.

In squash, Hiddy Jahan Khan was ranked among the top six players in the world from 1970 through to 1986. British Open champion Qamar Zaman also hails from Quetta. Other notable squash players include: Zarak Jahan Khan, Abdul Wali Khan Khilji, Hamayoon Khan Khilji, Zubair Jahan Khan, Shams ul Islam Khan Kakar, Tariq Rahim Khan Kakar, and Shaied Zaman Khan.

See also[link]

Pakistan portal

• Pashtun people
• Baloch people
• Hazara people
• 1935 Balochistan earthquake
• 2008 Ziarat earthquake
• Hazara town
• Mehrabad Alamdar Road

Gallery[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

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• Official webpage on Balochistan.gov.pk
• Quetta travel guide from Wikitravel

v t e Neighbourhoods of Quetta Administrations: Quetta Division and Quetta District Tehsils Chiltan Zarghoon Cities Quetta (capital) Towns and councils Aghbarg Gulzar Hanna Valley Hazara Town Kuchlak Mehr Abad Quetta Cant. Satellite Town Localities Killi Kateer Kirani Website: Quetta District at NRB

v t e Districts of Balochistan, Pakistan Provincial capital Quetta Districts Awaran Barkhan Bolan Chagai Dera Bugti Gwadar Jafarabad Jhal Magsi Kalat Kech Kharan Khuzdar Kohlu Lasbela Loralai Mastung Musakhel Nasirabad Nushki Panjgur Pishin Qilla Abdullah Qilla Saifullah Quetta Sibi Zhob Ziarat Harnai Washuk

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2010)

Honorable Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry
18th Chief Justice of Pakistan
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 March 2009
Nominated by	Pervez Musharraf
Appointed by	Yousaf Raza Gillani (reinstated in 2009)
Preceded by	Abdul Hameed Dogar
In office 30 June 2005 – 3 November 2007 (suspended by Pervez Musharraf until 22 March 2009 )
Preceded by	Nazim Hussain Siddiqui
Succeeded by	Abdul Hameed Dogar (De facto)
Senior Justice of the Supreme Court
In office 4 February 2000 – 27 June 2005
Nominated by	Rafiq Tarrar
Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court
In office 22 April 1999 – 3 February 2000
Nominated by	Rafiq Tarrar
Preceded by	Amirul Mulk
Succeeded by	Javaid Iqbal
Additional Judge of the Balochistan High Court
In office 6 November 1990 – 22 April 1999
Nominated by	Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Personal details
Born	Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (1948-12-12) 12 December 1948 (age 63) Quetta, Balochistan Province, West-Pakistan
Citizenship	Pakistan
Nationality	Pakistan
Alma mater	Sindh Muslim Law College Sindh University
Occupation	Jurist, Judge
Religion	Islam
National Honors	Medal of Freedom

Honorable Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (Urdu: افتخار محمّد چودھری; 12 December 1948), MoF, is the 18th and current Chief Justice of Pakistan, having been nominated by President General Pervez Musharraf on 30 June 2005, prior to his suspension on 3 November 2007.

His suspension plummeted Musharraf's government and credibility, public rating approvals that dramatically declined eventually leading to his downfall of his presidency and departure from the country. After the successful long march, Lawyers' Movement, chief justice Chaudhry was reinstated by the Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani on 22 March 2009. Grew up in Quetta of Balochistan Province, Chaudhry was educated at the Sindh University, Chaudhry became to practices the law as an advocate at the Sindh High Court in 1976, and ascended as a senior advocate at Supreme Court before taking a government law assignment in Quetta. He was appointed as the Additional Judge at the Balochistan High Court by then-President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1990, and was nominated by the President Rafiq Tarar as the Chief justice of Balochistan High Court in 1999. He controversially took oath under General Musharraf, validating the LFO ordnance, and ascended to the Supreme court in 2002. On 30 June 2005, President Musharraf approved the appointment of Chaudhry as chief justice, and refused to resign despite the pressure exerted by Musharraf, therefore leading to his suspension on 3 November 2007.

The news of suspension sparked the greater unrest, civil opinion, distressful economical situation, and the authoritarian actions led the downfall of General Musharraf's regime after he was replaced by General Ishfaq Pervez Kiani as Chief of Army Staff, and was finally forced to resign from the presidency leading to his quick departure from the country, as fallout of the 2008 parliamentary elections. Released by the orders of Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, the ban of restoration remained by the upcoming president Asif Ali Zardari, that led the massive protest in the entire country. Finally on 22 March 2009, Chaudhry was reinstated among with several other senior justices and judges. His notable rulings including the suo motu notice of controversial privatization of the Pakistan Steel Mills, leading the case of missing persons in Balochistan, arguing and issuing orders against the New Murree project regarding as environmental catastrophe, ruling the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) as unconstitutional and irrelevant, and currently proceeding the notice of contempt against the ruling Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani after refusing to write a letter to Swiss authorities over President's hidden assets in Swiss Banks.

Early life and family[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2012)

Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was born on 12 December 1948 in Quetta, Balochistan Province, Pakistan. Chaudhry belongs to Arain clan, his father, Chaudhry Jan Muhammad, a police officer, migrated from India at partition to a village in Faisalabad District and then went to Quetta, Balochistan during partition in 1947.He has spent all his life in Quetta and moved to Islamabad, when he was elevated judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan in the year 2000.Chaudhry has three brothers who are settled abroad and he is second eldest child of his parents.

He is married to Faiqa Iftikhar and has five children. His two sons are Arsalan Iftikhar and Ahmed Balach Iftikhar. He has three daughters namely Ayesha Iftikhar, Ifrah Iftikhar and Palwasha Iftikhar.

Career in law[link]

Chaudhry has a Bachelors in Arts and Bachelors in Law (LLB) from Jamshoro-Sindh.^[1] He joined the bar in 1974. Later, he was enrolled as Advocate of the High Court in 1976 and as an Advocate of the Supreme Court in 1985.^[1] In 1989 he was appointed Advocate General, Balochistan by Akbar Bugti the then Chief Minister of Balochistan.^[1] He was elevated as Additional Judge, Balochistan High Court on 6 November 1990 until 21 April 1999.^[1] On 22 April 1999 he became Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court. Besides remaining as Judge of High Court, he discharged duties as Banking Judge, Judge Special Court for Speedy Trials, Judge Customs Appellate Courts as well as Company Judge. Chaudhry also remained President of High Court Bar Association, Quetta, and was elected twice as Member of the Bar Council. In 1992 he was appointed as Chairman of Balochistan Local Council Election Authority and thereafter for second term in 1998. He also worked as Chairman, Provincial Review Board for the province of Balochistan and was twice appointed as Chairman of the Pakistan Red Crescent Society, Balochistan.^[1]

On 4 February 2000 he was nominated Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan. He is said to be the youngest Chief Justice of Pakistan, who will be serving the longest period that any other chief justice has ever served in the history of Pakistan's judiciary. On 30 June 2005 he became the Chief Justice of Pakistan.^[1] At present, Justice Iftikhar is also functioning as Chairman, Enrollment Committee of Pakistan Bar Council and as Chairman, Supreme Court Building Committee.^[1]

Oath taking under PCO 1999[link]

After the proclamation of Provisional Constitution Order, on 26 January 2000 an order Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2000 was issued that required that judiciary take oath of office under PCO. Four judges, including Chief Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, refused to take an oath under the PCO, and therefore no longer remained part of the PCO Supreme Court. To fill the positions in the PCO Supreme Court Musharraf appointed other judges, including Chaudhry, to the PCO Supreme Court. Musharraf's extra-constitutional acts were legitimized by this PCO Supreme Court, and the Parliament elected under Musharraf legitimized everything including the PCO Supreme Court by the Legal Framework Order, 2002.^{[citation needed]}

Suspension and Reinstatement, 2007[link]

On 9 March 2007, Chaudhry was suspended by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Chaudhry was summoned to Army House and was asked to resign in the presence of five Army Generals, including heads of intelligence services. Chaudhry refused to resign so Musharraf decided to file a Presidential reference against Chaudhry for misconduct. Upon chaudhry's refusal to resign, Musharraf forwarded the case to Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) as per procedure in constitution of Pakistan.

It was the first time in the 60-year history of the Pakistani Supreme Court that a Chief Justice was suspended. The suspension was made on the grounds of complaints against Chief Justice Chaudhry for violating the norms of judicial propriety, corruption, seeking favours and misbehaving with senior lawyers. He was also accused of interfering in the working of the executive branch. On the other hand Chaudhry too decided in the first time of history of Pakistan to challenge Musharraf and his reference in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Musharraf could not swallow this as he had plans to get rid of Chaudhry by sending the reference to SJC. He did not want Chaudhry to remain Chief Justice as he was an independent judge and had blatantly refused to facilitate Musharraf in his plans to get another five-year mandate through Supreme Court as his predecessors had done. Chaudhry on sensing that the judges of SJC were doing what was dictated to them by Musharraf refused to have his case heard in SJC and hence decided to challenge these dubious allegations in Supreme Court of Pakistan. Chaudhry's petition was taken up by thirteen member bench of supreme court, headed by Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday. Chaudhry was represented by five top lawyers of Pakistan, known as, Aitzaz Ahsan, Hamid Khan (lawyer), Munir A. Malik, Ali Ahmad Kurd and Tariq Mehmood. This panel of lawyers of Chaudhry was also termed a 'Dream Team', who fought valiantly for Chaudhry, inside and outside the court.

After his suspension, there was unrest in the country with regard to the validity of the allegations against Chaudhry, as well as doubt as to whether Musharraf technically had the power to suspend the Chief Justice under the circumstances. There was great outpour of public on roads to greet Chaudhry when he would travel to address Bar Associations. People fron all over the country would come only to see a glimpse of a man who had said 'NO' to a dictator in a room full of five Generals. His processions would take hours and hours to reach their final destination. But on 4 May 2007, Pakistan was witnessing a glimpse of revolution if not the revolution itself.^{[citation needed]} As he headed towards Lahore from capital Islamabad, millions lined 250 km-long-highway all the way to catch a glimpse of Chaudhry.^{[citation needed]} An otherwise four-hour journey took 24 hours. On 5 May 2007, Chaudhry with his counsel and politician friend Atizaz Ahsan reached the Lahore Bar Association in morning a dinner the association was holding in his honour.^[2]

On 20 July 2007, Chaudhry was reinstated to his position as Chief Justice in a ruling by the thirteen-member bench of Pakistans' Supreme Court headed by Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday. His counsel of five lawyers represented him against 16 senior lawyers representing the Federation. The ruling combined 25 constitutional petitions filed by various parties, but referred most of the issues raised by the 24 petitions not filed by Chaudhry himself to lower courts for extended adjudication. All thirteen of the sitting justices agreed that Musharraf's action had been illegal, and ten of the thirteen ordered Chaudhry was to be reinstated and that he "shall be deemed to be holding the said office and shall always be deemed to have been so holding the same."

2007 State of Emergency[link]

On Saturday, 3 November 2007, General Pervez Musharraf, who was the President and Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan at the time, declared a state of emergency and suspended the nation's constitution and parliament at the same time. He locked all the judges up in order to take revenge on them for giving a judgement in Chaudhry's favour. The declaration accused the judges of violating article 209 of the Constitution of 1973.^[3] In addition, Musharraf put not only Chaudhry and all the judges under house arrest but also Chaudhry's young children. Chaudhrys' youngest son, Balach, required physiotherapy that too was not provided.^{[citation needed]} His daughter had to take her A'Level exam at home, held under the supervision of British Council Pakistan.^{[citation needed]}

On 15 November Geo News reported that Chaudhry had ordered the Islamabad Inspector General of Police to take action against his and his family’s house arrest and their possible relocation to Quetta. According to the channel, Chaudhry held the interior secretary, the commissioner, the deputy commissioner and the assistant commissioner responsible for his house arrest. He said he was still the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the official residence was his by right.^[4]

Reinstatement, 2008–09[link]

Just after general elections in February, on 24 March 2008, on his first day of premiership the Pakistani PM Yousaf Raza Gillani ordered Chaudhry's release from house arrest.^[5][6]

In October 2008, Chaudhry visited the Supreme Court building.

The Lawyers' Movement announced a "long march" for the restoration of the judges, especially Chief Justice Iftikhar from 12 to 16 March 2009. The government of Pakistan refused to reinstate the judges and declared section 144 in effect in three of the four provinces of Pakistan thereby forbidding any form of gatherings of the "long march". Arrangements were made to block all roads and other means of transport to prevent the lawyers from reaching the federal capital, Islamabad. Workers of the main political parties in opposition and the lawyers movement as well as other known persons from the civil society were arrested. Despite these efforts, the movement continued and was able to break through the blockade in Lahore en route to Islamabad in the night between 15 and 16 March 2009. A few hours later, on the morning of 16 March 2009, the prime minister of Pakistan restored Chaudhary Iftikahar as chief justice of Pakistan through an executive order.^[7] after which the opposition agreed to stop the "long march".

Important considered rulings[link]

Pre 2007–08 judgements[link]

Pakistan Steel Mills privatization[link]

Chaudhry surprised the whole country when he suspended privatisation of Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) on the plea of the PSM workers’ union. It did not merely embarrass the government but jeopardised the whole privatisation process. Chaudhry, who was heading the bench, observed that the main objectives of the privatisation policy were poverty alleviation and debt retirement, but these were not given due weightage in the mills’ privatisation deal. He objected to the fact that the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation took the Privatisation Board’s recommended price of Rs 17.20 per share for granted and consequently, shares were sold at the low rate of Rs 16.81.

Other[link]

Some very important cases were heard in the supreme court in the 2007. Decisions have already been taken in some:

• The ‘New Murre’ housing project was an environmental catastrophe. Despite protests by the civil society and environmental groups, the military government refused to budge since many top politicians and some generals had a stake in this real-estate venture. Chaudhry ordered to shelve this project. He started earning respect for his ‘judicial activism’. He took suo motto actions on human rights, women rights cases besides offering relief to trade unions in some cases.

• Another sensitive issue was disappeared activists from Baluchistan province. A civil war has caught hold of Baluchistan since 1999. Hundreds of nationalist activists, including journalists and poets, have disappeared. When Human Rights Commission of Pakistan moved the Supreme Court against these disappearances, Chaudhry accepted the plea. The military regime was trying to hush up grave human rights violations (shootings, torture, and kidnappings) in Baluchistan.

Controversies[link]

Dismissal of petition challenging Legal Framework Order (LFO) 2002[link]

Just prior to the holding of the October 2002 General Elections a five member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, that Chaudhry was a member of, dismissed a petition which challenged the promulgation of the Legal Framework Order(LFO)2002 by President Musharraf. Under the LFO Musharraf announced amendments to the constitution which restored executive powers to the President, including the right to dismiss the National Assembly, appoint Governors and Service Chiefs and created a National Security Council (NSC).^[8] The main controversy started in 2009 after restoration of all Judges, the Oath taking of Judges on PCO in past was then declared crime by the same Judges who has taken oath on PCO in the past.

Judgement on 17th Amendment and President's Uniform Case 2005[link]

On 13 April 2005, in the "Judgment on 17th Amendment and President's Uniform Case", Chaudhry was one of five Supreme Court judges who dismissed all petitions challenging President Musharraf's consistitutional amendments. In a wide ranging judgement they declared that the Legal Framework Order (LFO) instituted by General Musharraf after his suspension of the constitution, the 17th amendment which gave this constitutional backing, and the two offices bill which allowed Musharraf to retain his military uniform whilst being President were all legal because the Parliament had approved the amendments.^[9]

Supreme Court justices[link]

On 30 July 2009, a 14 member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that all the judges who had taken an oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO), were removed from office and are now facing the Supreme Judicial Council. Two days later an ordinance signed by President Asif Ali Zardari officially removed all PCO judges from office.^[10]

Awards and honors[link]

Elena Kagan, then the Dean of Harvard Law School, delivering the Medal of Freedom to Chief Justice Chaudhry.

In the wake of the imposition of emergency rule in Pakistan, on 14 November 2007, the Harvard Law School^[11] decided to award its highest honour, the Medal of Freedom, to Justice Chaudhry, following the military crackdown the previous week. He becomes the first Pakistani to be presented with such honour and a third person in world to receive this award other than Nelson Mandela and Oliver Hill.

Chief Justice Chaudhry formally received the Harvard Law School Medal of Freedom during his visit to the United States in November, 2008.^[12]

The National Law Journal picked Chaudhry as the lawyer of the year for 2007.

The Association of the Bar of the City of New York granted Chaudhry an honorary membership in the association on 17 November 2008, recognizing him as a "symbol of the movement for judicial and lawyer independence in Pakistan." In 2012 Chaudhry was named among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine.^[13][14][15]

On May 29, 2012, Chaudhry and Indian Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav were awarded the prestigious International Jurists Award 2012. ^[16]

Chaudhry received the award^{[clarification needed]} from Lord Phillips, President of the Supreme Court of the UK, for his "unique and tremendous contribution in the field of administration of justice and for the tireless and fearless endeavours towards administration of justice in Pakistan against all odds." ^[17]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Movement for Rule of Law, Related to Lawyers Movement Pakistan.
• CJP Profile on SCP Official Website

Imran Khan Niazi عمران خان نیازی
Personal details
Born	(1952-11-25) 25 November 1952 (age 59) Lahore, West Punjab, Dominion of Pakistan
Political party	Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
Spouse(s)	Jemima Khan (1995–2004)
Children	Sulaiman Qasim Khan
Residence	Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Alma mater	Keble College, Oxford
Occupation	Politician Philanthropist Cricketer
Religion	Islam
Website	PTI

Imran Khan Niazi (Urdu: عمران خان نیازی; born 25 November 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics. Currently, besides his political activism, Khan is also a philanthropist, cricket commentator, Chancellor of the University of Bradford and Founder and Chairman Board of Governors of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre.

Arguably Pakistan's most successful cricket captain, Khan played for the Pakistani cricket team from 1971 to 1992 and served as its captain intermittently throughout 1982–1992.^[1] After retiring from cricket at the end of the 1987 World Cup, he was called back to join the team in 1988. At 39, Khan led his teammates to Pakistan's first and only World Cup victory in 1992. He has a record of 3807 runs and 362 wickets in Test cricket, making him one of eight world cricketers to have achieved an 'All-rounder's Triple' in Test matches.^[2] On 14 July 2010, Khan was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.^[3]

In April 1996, Khan founded and became the chairman of a political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice).^[4] He represented Mianwali as a member of the National Assembly from November 2002 to October 2007.^[5] Foreign Policy magazine has described him as "Pakistan's Ron Paul".^[6]

Through worldwide fundraising, he has also helped establish the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in 1996 and Mianwali's Namal College in 2008.

Family, education, and personal life[link]

Imran Khan was born in Lahore, the only son of Ikramullah Khan Niazi, a civil engineer, and his wife Shaukat Khanum.^[7] Although long settled in Mianwali in Punjab, the family were of Pashtun ethnicity and belonged to the Niazi Shermankhel tribe.^[8] A quiet and shy boy in his youth, Khan grew up with his four sisters in relatively affluent (upper middle-class) circumstances^[9] and received a privileged education. He was educated the Cathedral School in Lahore, the Royal Grammar School Worcester in England, where he excelled at cricket, and at Aitchison College, Lahore. In 1972, he enrolled to study Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Keble College, Oxford, where he graduated with a second-class degree in Politics and a third in Economics.^[10] Khan's mother hailed from the Burki family which had produced several successful hockey players,^[7] as also cricketers such as Javed Burki and Majid Khan.^[8] Early in life, Khan developed an interest in cricket, which is an extremely popular sport in Pakistan.

Marriage to Jemima Marcelle Goldsmith[link]

On 16 May 1995, Khan married Jemima Goldsmith, in an Islamic ceremony in Paris. A month later, on 21 June, they were married again in a civil ceremony at the Richmond register office in England, followed by a reception at the Goldsmiths' house in Surrey.^[11] . The marriage, described as "tough" by Khan,^[8] produced two sons, Sulaiman Isa (born 18 November 1996) and Kasim (born 10 April 1999).^[12] As an agreement of his marriage, Khan spent four months a year in England. On 22 June 2004, it was announced that the Khans had divorced because it was "difficult for Jemima to adapt to life in Pakistan".^[13] The marriage ended amicably. Imran has regular access to his children and his relationship with his ex-wife is friendly. Khan now resides in Bani Gala, Islamabad, where he built a farmhouse with the money he gained from selling his London flat. He grows fruit trees, wheat, and keeps cows, while also maintaining a cricket ground for his two sons, who visit during their holidays.^[8]

Cricket career[link]

Pride of Performance Award Recipient
Imran Khan was recipient of the Pride of Performance Award 1983
Presented by	Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Date	1983
Country	Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Khan made a lacklustre first-class cricket debut at the age of sixteen in Lahore. By the start of the 1970s, he was playing for his home teams of Lahore A (1969–70), Lahore B (1969–70), Lahore Greens (1970–71) and, eventually, Lahore (1970–71).^[14] Khan was part of Oxford University's Blues Cricket team during the 1973–75 seasons.^[10] At Worcestershire, where he played county cricket from 1971 to 1976, he was regarded as only an average medium pace bowler. During this decade, other teams represented by Khan include Dawood Industries (1975–76) and Pakistan International Airlines (1975–76 to 1980–81). From 1983 to 1988, he played for Sussex.^[2]

In 1971, Khan made his Test cricket debut against England at Birmingham. Three years later, he debuted in the One Day International (ODI) match, once again playing against England at Nottingham for the Prudential Trophy. After graduating from Oxford and finishing his tenure at Worcestershire, he returned to Pakistan in 1976 and secured a permanent place on his native national team starting from the 1976–77 season, during which they faced New Zealand and Australia.^[14] Following the Australian series, he toured the West Indies, where he met Tony Greig, who signed him up for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket.^[2] His credentials as one of the fastest bowlers of the world started to establish when he finished third at 139.7 km/h in a fast bowling contest at Perth in 1978, behind Jeff Thomson and Michael Holding, but ahead of Dennis Lillee, Garth Le Roux and Andy Roberts.^[2]

As a fast bowler, Khan reached the peak of his powers in 1982. In 9 Tests, he got 62 wickets at 13.29 each, the lowest average of any bowler in Test history with at least 50 wickets in a calendar year.^[15] In January 1983, playing against India, he attained a Test bowling rating of 922 points. Although calculated retrospectively (ICC player ratings did not exist at the time), Khan's form and performance during this period ranks third in the ICC's All-Time Test Bowling Rankings.^[16]

Khan achieved the all-rounder's triple (securing 3000 runs and 300 wickets) in 75 Tests, the second fastest record behind Ian Botham's 72. He is also established as having the second highest all-time batting average of 61.86 for a Test batsman playing at position 6 of the batting order.^[17] He played his last Test match for Pakistan in January 1992, against Sri Lanka at Faisalabad. Khan retired permanently from cricket six months after his last ODI, the historic 1992 World Cup final against England at Melbourne, Australia.^[18] He ended his career with 88 Test matches, 126 innings and scored 3807 runs at an average of 37.69, including six centuries and 18 fifties. His highest score was 136 runs. As a bowler, he took 362 wickets in Test cricket, which made him the first Pakistani and world's fourth bowler to do so.^[2] In ODIs, he played 175 matches and scored 3709 runs at an average of 33.41. His highest score remains 102 not out. His best ODI bowling is documented at 6 wickets for 14 runs.

Captaincy[link]

At the height of his career, in 1982, the thirty-year-old Khan took over the captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team from Javed Miandad. Recalling his initial discomfort with this new role, he later said, "When I became the cricket captain, I couldn’t speak to the team directly I was so shy. I had to tell the manager, I said listen can you talk to them, this is what I want to convey to the team. I mean early team meetings I use to be so shy and embarrassed I couldn’t talk to the team."^[19] As a captain, Khan played 48 Test matches, out of which 14 were won by Pakistan, 8 lost and the rest of 26 were drawn. He also played 139 ODIs, winning 77, losing 57 and ending one in a tie.^[2]

In the team's second match under his leadership, Khan led them to their first Test win on English soil for 28 years at Lord's.^[20] Khan's first year as captain was the peak of his legacy as a fast bowler as well as an all-rounder. He recorded the best Test bowling of his career while taking 8 wickets for 58 runs against Sri Lanka at Lahore in 1981–82.^[2] He also topped both the bowling and batting averages against England in three Test series in 1982, taking 21 wickets and averaging 56 with the bat. Later the same year, he put up a highly acknowledged performance in a home series against the formidable Indian team by taking 40 wickets in six Tests at an average of 13.95. By the end of this series in 1982–83, Khan had taken 88 wickets in 13 Test matches over a period of one year as captain.^[14]

Imran Khan's test career bowling statistics

This same Test series against India, however, also resulted in a stress fracture in his shin that kept him out of cricket for more than two years. An experimental treatment funded by the Pakistani government helped him recover by the end of 1984 and he made a successful comeback to international cricket in the latter part of the 1984–85 season.^[2]

In 1987, Khan led Pakistan to its first ever Test series win in India, which was followed by Pakistan's first series victory in England the same year.^[20] During the 1980s, his team also recorded three creditable draws against the West Indies. India and Pakistan co-hosted the 1987 World Cup, but neither ventured beyond the semi-finals. Khan retired from international cricket at the end of the World Cup. In 1988, he was asked to return to the captaincy by the President Of Pakistan, General Zia-Ul-Haq, and on 18 January, he announced his decision to rejoin the team.^[2] Soon after returning to the captaincy, Khan led Pakistan to another winning tour in the West Indies, which he has recounted as "the last time I really bowled well".^[8] He was declared Man of the Series against West Indies in 1988 when he took 23 wickets in 3 tests.^[2]

Khan's career-high as a captain and cricketer came when he led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Playing with a brittle batting line-up, Khan promoted himself as a batsman to play in the top order along with Javed Miandad, but his contribution as a bowler was minimal. At the age of 39, Khan scored the highest runs of all the Pakistani batsmen and took the winning last wicket himself.^[14]

Post-retirement[link]

In 1994, Khan had admitted that, during Test matches, he "occasionally scratched the side of the ball and lifted the seam." He had also added, "Only once did I use an object. When Sussex were playing Hampshire in 1981 the ball was not deviating at all. I got the 12th man to bring out a bottle top and it started to move around a lot."^[21] In 1996, Khan successfully defended himself in a libel action brought forth by former English captain and all-rounder Ian Botham and batsman Allan Lamb over comments they alleged were made by Khan in two articles about the above-mentioned ball-tampering and another article published in an Indian magazine, India Today. They claimed that, in the latter publication, Khan had called the two cricketers "racist, ill-educated and lacking in class." Khan protested that he had been misquoted, saying that he was defending himself after having admitted that he tampered with a ball in a county match 18 years ago.^[22] Khan won the libel case, which the judge labelled a "complete exercise in futility", with a 10–2 majority decision by the jury.^[22]

Since retiring, Khan has written opinion pieces on cricket for various British and Asian newspapers, especially regarding the Pakistani national team. His contributions have been published in India's Outlook magazine,^[23] the Guardian,^[24] the Independent, and the Telegraph. Khan also sometimes appears as a cricket commentator on Asian and British sports networks, including BBC Urdu^[25] and the Star TV network.^[26] In 2004, when the Indian cricket team toured Pakistan after 14 years, he was a commentator on TEN Sports' special live show, Straight Drive,^[27] while he was also a columnist for sify.com for the 2005 India-Pakistan Test series.^[28] He has provided analysis for every cricket World Cup since 1992, which includes providing match summaries for BBC during the 1999 World Cup.^[28]