LAHORE: Former judge of the Lahore High Court and former secretary general of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Barrister Malik Saeed Hassan passed away on Thursday after protracted illness. He was 86.

Mr Hassan had resigned as judge when Gen Ziaul Haq imposed martial law in the country in 1977 and joined the legal team defending late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in trial.

Barrister Hassan started practicing law in 1950s and was twice elected president of the Lahore High Court Bar Association in 1973 and 1985. He contested election for the National Assembly from Lahore in 1990, but was not elected. In 2005, he lost election for president of Supreme Court Bar Association to Malik Muhammad Qayum. He remained a regular visitor to the bar till his health deteriorated a few months back.

His funeral prayer was held at Jamia Masjid of Nisar Colony, Sarwar Road, Cantonment. Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, other sitting and former judges, LHCBA president Rana Zia Abdur Rehman, Pakistan Bar Council vice chairman Ahsan Bhoon, senior lawyer Abid Saqi, Senator Kazim Khan, Shahid Mahmood Bhatti, ex-foreign minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri and a large number of other notables from various walks of life attended the funeral.

He was laid to rest at Cavalry Ground graveyard. Qul khwani will be held on Saturday at 1:30pm at Bagh-i-Jinnah. Barrister Hassan is survived by his widow Dr Shahnaz Hassan, a son and a daughter.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2017