Profiles > Athar Minallah Advocate Supreme Court

 

 

 

 

Full Name: Athar Minallah

Date of Birth: December 30, 1961

Born in: Chitral, Pakistan

Detail: Athar Minallah is son of Nasrum Minallah. Athar Minallah feels that the future is challenging; and that the solution lies in collaboration of the Military and Civil Bureaucracy. Athar Minallah feels that Constitution must be held supreme and that Law must be respected, if at all we wish to progress. He has great regard for the charismatic leadership of Late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto whom he holds in high esteem. He spends his leisure time with family and friends. He is fond of reading and likes the columns of Javed Chaudhry, Ayaz Amir and Kamran Shafi. Music soothes his nerves and he listens to a diverse range of artists. He likes watching as well as playing ‘Golf’. He was a minister in the caretaker government of the NWFP, over seeing political transition and elections. Athar focused on his law practice but could not resist entering legal politics as member of the bar associations, while living in Islamabad. when the former general Musharraf sacked the chief justice of Pakistan along with 60 other justices that triggered a mass protest in the country, Athar appeared as a courageous, articulate, vociferous and distinguished spokesman for the judges and for democracy. His politico-legal declarations were based on the law of the land and principles for which he and his family gave many sacrifices.

 

Education

A proficient lawyer today; Athar Minallah had attented ‘Islamabad College for Boys’ for his Intermediate. He then joined Sir Syed College for bechelors and finally did his Masters in Law from Cambridge. During his educations he found fine mentors in Mr. Saleem and Mr. Taha Khan who taught him Physics and Mathematics respectively. He urges the youngsters to change their mindsets in order to influence and change the mindset of the people around them.

 

Early Life

Athar Minallah is the eldest son of Nasr Minallah, a former chief secretary of a province of Pakistan and commissioner in the civil services during the 1960s and 1970s. Nasrum Minallh was a distinguished civil servant who came from the Pashto speaking NWFP. He was married to Bilqees (Minallah) and had four children: Athar, Fauzia, Akmal and Samar.

Nasr Minallah served with particular distinction during the time of the former Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan and was persecuted by the dictator, general Zia ul Haq, after Bhutto was removed in a coup. A car accident caused the untimely death of Nasr Minallah, while travelling on the main highway between Islamabad and Lahore.

His wife survived the accident. She, later on, became a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan and saw her daughter Fauzia become a distinguished political cartoonist for the largest English daily in Islamabad, winning numerous awards and accolades. Athar became a lawyer. Akmal and Samar, the former after graduating as a doctor, chose to enter the civil services of Pakistan, in the footsteps of their illustrious father, although not in the civil and city administration, which was their father's forte. Their (extended) family deserves a particular mention in the history of 1970s Pakistan, especially in the [immediate] post Bhutto era because one of their close relatives, justice Safdar Shah was the supreme court judge who wrote a judgment declaring Bhutto innocent of the crime for which he was ultimately hanged (a 4 to 3 majority vote in the supreme court). For this, he was hounded out of Pakistan by the dictator Zia ul Haq and escaped to London where he later died. Athar was always interested in politics since his school days. He was a fire-brand yet a distinguished debater and commanded a charming personality.

His characteristic smile endeared him to all. But, under that smile and intent gaze, there was astute intelligence and courage. Athar entered the civil services and joined the Pakistan customs. He rose to senior positions in the department but could not abstain from entering the political scene that saw democratic institutions destroyed and dictatorship (however benevolent towards media and others) sap the spirit of the nation. He was a Z A Bhutto lover, as was the whole generation of young people, enthused and fascinated by the man and the phenomenon. But, after his experience of the later governments, he never saw the stature and the calibre in the post Z A Bhutto leadership of the PPP. with the man went the dream and the promise. Athar resigned his distinguished civil services career and started a law practice that saw him become a lawyer in the high courts of Pakistan. for a while.