Justice Mohan Lal Shahani (1949-2004)

[Gul Agha <agha@CS.UIUC.EDU>]

http://dailykawish.com/Hyd12/tk09.html

Prominent Sindhi jurist and human rights advocate, Saaiin Mohan Lal
Shahani passed away on Wednesday.  Saaiin Shahani was born on 18 March
1949 in Dadu.  He was receiving treatment at Temple University Medical
Hospital.  Saaiin Shahani studied at Sindh University in Jamshoro,
receiving his M.A. in Economics in 1971 and L.L.B. (Law degree) in
1973 and then started his law practice.  He was particularly
interested in Labor law and travelled to Australia, Singapore, and
other countries to study their legal systems.  He assisted in the
defence of Mr. Z. A. Bhutto, when the latter was charged with capital
crime by the Pakistani military.  He was appointed Sindh Advocate
General in 1996, and was is the only non-Muslim to have served in this
type of position anywhere in Pakistan.  In 1997, he was appointed to
the Sindh High Court.  He was illegally dismissed as High Court Judge
when the Prime Minister Saairni Benazir Bhutto, a Sindhi, was removed
from office on the behest of the military.  Sindh Bar Association (the
association of all lawyers eligible to practice in Sindh's highest
court) elected Saaiin Shahani as its President.  His son Saaiin
Shahzad Shahani, also an advocate in Sindh, said his remains will be
returned to Sindh so he can they can buried in his homeland.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed its
condolences:

LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is shocked and
grieved at the death of ML Shahani's, a former HRCP governing body
member and Sindh High Court judge, said IA Rehman, the HRCP director,
in a statement on Friday. Mr Shahani was a well-known human rights
activist and helped minorities and labourers, said the statement. Mr
Rehman said that Mr Sahani handled several important court cases on
behalf of trade unions and minority communities and remained committed
to human rights while working as the Sindh advocate general. His
career as a Sindh High Court judge was unfortunately cut short in
circumstances that appeared to be less than fair, said Mr Rehman. As a
member of the HRCP governing body, Mr Shahani spared neither time nor
effort to advocate the rights of the underprivileged. HRCP condoled
his family and prayed for the departed soul.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_13-11-2004_pg10_3
----
avali aakhiri aahe, halarnu muhinjo hota dde (Shah)
In the beginning and the end, our journey is to the Beloved.

haku mojuudu,

Gul Agha