- published: 12 Apr 2012
- views: 6743
Abbas Kazmi (born 18 May 1955) is a criminal lawyer who received wide media coverage for representing Ajmal Kasab, the prime accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
Kazmi first came to Mumbai as an aspiring actor and worked in a few films such as Anjaan Rahen, with Feroz Khan and Asha Parekh, and Jugnoo, with Dharmendra and Hema Malini. He found little success in acting and so decided to go into law practice.
After graduating in 1980 from K.C. College, Mumbai, Kazmi moved to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. There he worked as a financial advisor. He moved back to Mumbai in 1993 and soon represented several suspects in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast case. Other clients of his include Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi and suspects in the case of Gulshan Kumar's murder.
Kazmi was married in 1985. He has two daughters and one son.
In April 2009, Kazmi was appointed as the defense lawyer in the trial of the main accused in the Mumbai attack, Kasab. The previously appointed lawyer, Anjali Waghmare, was removed from the case due to "professional misconduct": she was also representing a victim in the same case. Kasab had asked for Pakistani lawyers to represent him at his trial, but a lack of response from Pakistani officials and the resulting delay resulted in Kazmi's appointment. In various interviews, Kazmi made his position clear by saying that he will defend his client in order to perform his professional duty sincerely.
Kazmi, Kazimi or Kazemi is the surname for a family belonging to the offsprings of Muhammad's great-grandson Imam Musa al-Kadhim. They belong to the Sayyid community. Kazmi (or people belonging to this family) can be found all over the world especially in Iran, Iraq and the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent.