Farooq Naek

Farooq Hamid Naek (Urdu: فاروق حمید نائیک ; 1 July 1947) also spelled Farooq H. Naik, is a Pakistani politician and lawyer, who served as the Chairman Senate, Minister of Law as well as headed the Ministry of Justice in the government led by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani.[2]

Farooq Naek
فاروق نائیک
Minister of Justice
In office
11 April 2012 – 16 March 2013
Prime MinisterYousaf Raza Gillani
Raja Pervez Ashraf
Preceded byMoula Bakhsh Chandio
Succeeded byAhmer Bilal Soofi (Acting)
In office
31 March 2008 – 10 March 2009
Prime MinisterYousaf Raza Gillani
Preceded byWasi Zafar
Succeeded byBabar Awan
5th Chairman of the Senate
In office
12 March 2009 – 12 March 2012
Preceded byMuhammad Mian Soomro
Succeeded byNayyar Hussain Bukhari
Personal details
Born (1947-07-01) 1 July 1947
Sialkot, Punjab, British India
Political partyPakistan Peoples Party
RelationsKhawaja Muhammad Asif (cousin)[1]
Alma materUniversity of Karachi

After successfully contesting in the 2008 general elections, Naek won the bid for the law ministry, but ascended to Chairman of the Senate in 2009. Due to cabinet reshuffle by Gillani in 2012, he was again appointed as law minister of the country.[3] He is a high-ranking member of the central committee of the Pakistan Peoples Party, and has been a personal lawyer and legal counselor in the legal cases leveled up against Benazir Bhutto and her spouse Asif Ali Zardari since 1996.[4]

Naek was brought up in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. After graduating from high school, he was accepted at the Sindh Muslim Law College, where he earned an LLB in law. Later, he went on to attend the post-graduate school of the University of Karachi where he earned an MA in Economics. His political career began in 1971, when he served as Assistant Director at the Directorate of Labour and Social Welfare of the provincial Government of Sindh. He then was a Civil Judge and First Class Magistrate from 1971 to 1975. He was elected General Secretary of Karachi Bar Association during mid-1985-90. He also served as Deputy Attorney General of Pakistan from 1994 to 1996 in the second Benazir Bhutto government.

Naek enrolled as Advocate of local court in 1970, advocate of high court in 1976, and of Supreme Court in 1990. He resigned from the judicial service after serving as civil judge for two years and became an active member of the PPP in the mid-1970s.[4]

Naek was arrested in 1995, after leading a demonstration against the dictatorial rule of General Zia Ul Haq. He was held in Central Prison, Karachi, for about six months along with 10 other lawyers.[5]

Although Naek was associated with the PPP for three decades, he only shot to prominence when he fought the corruption and criminal cases against Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari during Pervez Musharraf's rule in and out of Pakistan. It was during these extremely difficult years of Zardari that Naek earned his trust. Before and after becoming the President of Pakistan, Zardari always consulted him on legal matters and other issues.[4]

Naek contested the 2016 Supreme Court Bar Association elections for President, against Rasheed A. Razvi.[6] Naek however lost the election with a large margin.[7]

Political appointments

Naek has been the senator from Sindh since 2003. He was appointed as the Federal Minister for Law and Justice as a result of 2008 Pakistani general election. He was reappointed as the Federal Minister for Law and Justice in April 2012 after his 3-year term as Chairman of Senate.[5]

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Farooq Hamid Naek.
  1. "Marriage of Convenience". BOL News. 7 August 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2023. Former Senate chairman and senior PPP leader Farooq H Naek and incumbent Defence Minister Khawaja Asif are the maternal cousins. The wives of both the politicians are real sisters.
  2. Govt Pak. "Minister for Law and Justice Division". Government of Pakistan. Ministry of Law and Justice. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  3. Staff report (6 March 2012). "Govt decides to name Farooq Naek as new law minister". Pakistan Tribune. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  4. "Why Naek was named Senate chief" The News, 10 March 2009
  5. "Farooq Hamid Naek". Senate of Pakistan. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  6. "SCBA elections tomorrow". The Nation. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  7. "Rasheed Rizvi elected SCBA president - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 1 November 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
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