Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmad

Son of late Sheikh Manzoor Ahmad, Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmad was born on 9 March, 1938 in Quetta. He was enrolled as advocate on 16/08/1960 and as Advocate High Court on 25/09/1962. He was then enrolled as Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan in February, 1968. Justice Riaz Ahmad practiced at the Bar for 14 years before his appointment as an Assistant Advocate-General Punjab in 1974.

During the practice he has worked as Legal Advisor to the Standard Bank West Pakistan, Family Planning Department, Punjab University, Ravi Rayon, Ittehad Chemicals and WAPDA etc. He was brought on the State list in 1963 to represent the Province of the West Pakistan in the High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan and conducted many cases on the Constitutional, Criminal as well as Civil sides of the Law. He was part time Lecturer in the Punjab University Law College Lahore from 1967 to 1974.

Justice Riaz Ahmad was appointed as an Assistant Advocate-General to the Government of Punjab on 24/01/1974, and with the shifting of the Supreme Court to Rawalpindi was transferred to Rawalpindi. He worked exclusively in the Supreme Court of Pakistan from November, 1974 to May 1980. He represented not only Punjab but other Provinces and the Federal Government before the Supreme Court and conducted many important cases of Constitutional importance in the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

He has worked as Member of the Research Committee to assist the Attorney-General of Pakistan for the preparation of Reference to be filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the National Awami Party in 1975-76.

Justice Riaz Ahmad was appointed as Advocate-General, Punjab on 27th of May, 1980 as the Principal Law Officer of the Government of Punjab and worked in the said capacity till 3rd of March, 1984, when he was appointed as a Judge of the Lahore High Court.

He was Member of the Punjab University Law College Committee since 1980 and was appointed as a Chairman, Board of Governors of the Quaid-e-Azam Law College, as a Judge of the Lahore High Court Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmad was appointed as Tribunal to hold an enquiry into the Badshahi Mosque incident in Lahore.

He was nominated at Bahawalpur Bench of the Lahore High Court for one year from 1985-86. He held the office of the Chairman of Punjab Bar Council from 1980 to 1984. He was Chairman of the Enrolment Committee of Punjab Bar Council for enrolling the Advocates.  He was Member of the Committee constituted by the Government of Punjab to run the affairs of Islamia College Civil Lines, Lahore, Member of the Syndicate Agriculture University, Faisalabad, Member of the Judicial Commission to probe into the causes of the air crash of C-130 Aircraft at Bahawalpur wherein General Zia-ul-Haq and others were killed, Member of the Election Commission of Pakistan, and Member of the Executive Council of the Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad.

Justice Sheikh Riaz Ahmad was appointed Secretary Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs of the Federal Government in December, 1993. He was appointed as ad hoc Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in June, 1995 and assumed duties as senior Judge of the Lahore High Court in 1996 and worked as Acting Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court from 8th April, 1997 till 22nd of April, 1997. He was appointed as the Chief Justice Lahore High Court, Lahore on 30th of May, 1997.