KARACHI: Prominent jurist and former chief election commissioner, Fakhruddin G Ebrahim, passed away in Karachi on Tuesday. Funeral prayers for the former attorney general will be offered at Noor Bagh Graveyard, Mewa Shah.
Ebrahim was appointed to important posts throughout his life. He is a former attorney general of Pakistan and also served in the capacities of governor as well as the federal minister for law.
He also served as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and was among a few others such as Justice S. Anwarul Haq, Justice Maulvi Mushtaq Hussain and Justice Dorab Patel — all of whom refused to take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) drafted by then-army chief General Zia-ul-Haq.
Furthermore, Ebrahim had served as the attorney general of Pakistan during Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's government and was also appointed governor Sindh.
After Farooq Leghari dismissed former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's government in 1991, he was appointed the federal law minister in the caretaker setup that followed.
In July 2012, he was appointed the chief election commissioner by President Zardari after being approved by a parliamentary panel. The May 2013 general elections and the presidential election were held during his tenure.
Geo News anchor Hamid Mir said that the prominent jurist had stood up against former military dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharraf when the then-army chief decided to remove Justice (retd) Iftikhar Chaudhry from the post of chief justice in 2009.
"Fakhruddin G Ebrahim had severe differences with former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. However, when Musharraf dismissed him, he condemned the move and went on TV to urge others to do the same," said Mir.
Mir said that Ebrahim was involved in a lot of social work in certain areas of interior Sindh discreetly. He said the former Supreme Court judge had also helped establish several schools in the province.
He further said Ebrahim was working on a book. He said the former election commission chief will go down as an honourable man as even his opponents admitted that he was an honest man. Mir said Ebrahim had become depressed in 2013 when multiple political parties, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had alleged that the polls had been marred by rigging.
Prominent journalist Mazhar Abbas also spoke to Geo News and said that Ebrahim was an honourable man. He said when President Zardari had offered Ebrahim the post of chief election commissioner, he did not accept it immediately.
"He [Ebrahim] asked me whether I should accept the post or not. I told him there was none more eligible than him for the post and with him heading the commission, the outcome will be something positive," he said.
Abbas said the former attorney general refused to dissolve the assembly when he was governor in 1990 due to which he was dismissed and another was appointed in his stead. He said Ebrahim lived a life dominated by principles and he never compromised on them.
"The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) used to seek legal advice from him," recalled Abbas.
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