PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth was laid to rest near his mother’s grave in a Serki Gate graveyard here on Friday as the people paid homage to him for delivering outstanding judgments.

The 59-year-old, who had died of coronavirus a day ago in an Islamabad hospital, left behind a widow and a daughter.With the provincial government observing a day of mourning, the people from different walks of life attended the chief justice’s funeral at the Colonel Sher Khan Stadium in Peshawar cantonment area amid tight security measures.

The participants included Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, acting PHC Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan, Peshawar Corps Commander Lt-General Nauman Mahmood, minister Sultan Mohammad Khan, CM aide Kamran Banash, chief secretary Dr Kazim Niaz, police chief Sanaullah Abbasi, Supreme Court Bar Association president Abdul Lateef Afridi, PHC Bar Association president Khalid Anwar Afridi, Awami National Party leaders Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour and Mian Iftikhar Hussain, current and former judges of the high court and subordinate judiciary, lawyers, high court staff members and others.

The PHC Bar Association has already announced three-day mourning over the death of the high court’s chief justice.

“He [Justice Waqar] was not an individual and instead, he was an institution. This void [caused by his death] won’t be filled in centuries,” said acting Chief Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan, who appeared visibly shaken.

Both Justice Waqar and Justice Qaiser were appointed to the high court as additional judges the same day, Aug 2, 2011 to be exact.

Justice Qaiser said he’d friendship with the deceased for 40 years and that the deceased was a brave, honest, upright and friendly person.

“I was second in seniority to him [Justice Waqar] and had sought guidance and inspiration from him,” he said.

He said the paying of tribute to the deceased by such a large number of people clearly showed the great respect he had earned.

SCBA president Abdul Lateef Afridi told reporters that the death of Justice Waqar Seth was a shock for the province, high court and judiciary.“No doubt judges like Waqar Seth were born in centuries. The courage with which he delivered judgments in accordance with his conscience is rare,” he said.

Mr Afridi said the deceased confronted certain institutions while deciding several issues and had to pay the price for that as he was denied the due elevation to the Supreme Court.

Senior lawyer Noor Alam Khan said judgments delivered by Justice Waqar were of international significance.

He said the judgment delivered by the deceased in the military court conviction cases was highlighted by the International Court of Justice in the Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav case.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan and law minister Sultan Mohammad Khan termed the death of Justice Waqar a great loss to the province and judiciary.

A news release issued by the high court said the judges and staff members of the Peshawar High Court and district judiciary were deeply saddened by the death and considered it to be a colossal loss for the legal fraternity and judiciary of the province.

They prayed to the Almighty Allah to rest the departed soul in eternal peace and grant fortitude to the family of the deceased to bear the loss.

It was announced that the national flag would fly half-mast on the premises of the high court, its benches and district judiciary for three days to mark the death.

The people thronged the deceased’s official residence all through the day to offer Fateha.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2020