Daily Times

You are a prominent lawyer and very active in raising voice against many social issues. For the uninitiated, please shed light on your work and tell us about your success story.

I am an advocate High Court, I primarily deal in civil, constitutional and commercial matters. Moreover, I am also a very passionate advocate of human rights and routinely help people who cannot afford to engage a lawyer to assert their rights. My human rights practice brings the most joy to me because it lets me give back to society. Some cases are very close to my heart. One such matter is when I fought for the employment rights of transgender persons. My client applied for the job of a lecturer in public sector colleges through PPSC. However, they rejected her application because they had only sought applications from male and female candidates. Feeling aggrieved by the highhandedness of authorities, we challenged that order in the Honourable Lahore High Court, Lahore. The Honourable Justice, in the final order, held that barring the transgender community from applying for the job was a clear violation of Articles 25 and 27 of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973 and also violated the protections accorded to the community under the Transgender Persons Protection of Rights Act. One more case that brings me joy is when I helped a young boy in his late teens obtain justice for the sexual abuse, he faced at the hands of his football coach when he was a child. The issue was very complex, as the sexual abuse happened several years ago when he was only a child. The police did not cooperate with him at first, as the incident happened a few years ago. Later, when the client engaged me, I was able to help him lodge the FIR and had the rapist arrested. He later confessed to his crimes and is now facing a trial.

How big a part has your education played in shaping you up as a professional?

The legal profession is a profession of lifelong learning, one simply cannot excel in this profession if they do not remain up to date on the latest judgments, laws and the development of jurisprudence, so it would be fair to say that a good and successful lawyer is someone who never stops learning and possess a never-ending desire to pursue knowledge. I firmly believe that my formative education at the school has also been crucial to my success in life and in profession, apart from the fact that one has to go to a law school to become a lawyer, it is my early education during school years that I attribute my success to. The skills I developed during my school years such as writing, critical thinking, etc, have been helpful and gave me an edge during the start of my career.

‘I practice in a wide array of legal disciplines and clients approach me with all sorts of issues, whether it is complex corporate, contractual and constitutional matters, property disputes, employment issues, divorce and custody-related matters, etc’

What kind of problems and challenges do clients come to you with? Are you always able to assist them?

I practice in a wide array of legal disciplines and clients approach me with all sorts of issues, whether it is complex corporate, contractual and constitutional matters, property disputes, employment issues, divorce and custody-related matters, etc. Normally, I do not practice criminal law but in connection with my Human Rights practice I have dealt with numerous criminal matters ranging from issues of sexual abuse to cybercrimes, I did it all. The technique is to assume responsibility for the cause of your client and deliver sound legal advice and services to them. We simply cannot win all the cases we take, as there are many factors beyond our control. A lawyer must fight the case of his client to the best of his professional ability and leave the decision to the judge. So far, my success rate in the profession is exceptionally high, and even in those cases where we did not achieve the desired results for our clients, they were satisfied with the quality of legal services and representation they received from us. Ultimately the decision rests with the judge.

Did the pandemic affect your work in any way?

The COVID affected the health and lives of billions of people. The pandemic had also adversely affected the lives of many legal professionals. The nature of this profession is such that we are always at risk of exposure to the COVID. Despite precautions, many of my learned brothers lost their lives. Later, we had to shut down our offices during the lockdown for nearly three months. Our clients also suffered from it. Courts were not listing their cases during the lockdown. Even the cases pending at the final stage of proceedings got delayed by many months. They were difficult times; many legal professionals struggled to make ends meet during the lockdown. However, things improved after the lockdown lifted and life returned to normal.

How did you bounce back?

After the lockdown, I returned with a lot of zeal and heightened determination. for lawyers’ the associated risk to health always remained but otherwise, things quickly went back to being normal, as companies began to open up after the lockdown and new business started to come in. Moreover, the number of cases from individual/private clients also grew. The Lockdown had slowed everything down but it also gave rise to many new problems, so once the situation returned to normal the business was good.

What are you currently working on?

Presently, I am working on several high-profile cases/matters. Recently I was engaged by the Dubai-based Film studio/Production house as a legal advisor for their upcoming biopic film Rawalpindi Express. The movie is based on the life of former Pakistani pace bowler Mr. Shoaib Akhtar. Another interesting case I am working on is concerning the interpretation of laws. I represent a group of provincial government servants who applied for an opening under the Federal Government. However, the Authorities rejected their applications relying on an incorrect interpretation of the law. So, we are now challenging that decision in the High Court. Moreover, I am also advising the leadership of an upcoming political party concerning its registration with the Election Commission of Pakistan. Also, I am drafting the Constitution of that political party.

How rewarding is your work?

The legal profession is a very rewarding profession both in terms of financial rewards and the personal satisfaction one derives from it. You not only get paid well for the work you do but also the satisfaction one receives in helping out others is incomparable, but I have to admit at the same time it is a very stressful profession. People’s lives depend on us.

What according to you has been your biggest achievement so far?

It is hard to select one case as there are several cases. If I have to choose one, it is when I helped a foreign lady living in Pakistan. Her Pakistani husband had evicted her from their home and illegally commenced the divorce process without bringing it to her knowledge. He filed the divorce proceedings at a Union Council that lacked any jurisdiction to proceed in that matter. She had met several lawyers, some of whom were well-known names, but all of them had told her that she did not have a strong case. When she came to me, she was understandably upset. She had lost faith in the local legal system. The staff of the concerned Union Council had also received bribes from her husband. As a result, they were completely uncooperative. So we had to approach multiple authorities and finally got the relief from the Honourable Lahore High Court, Lahore on the last day i.e. before the divorce registration certificate was going to be issued to her. This case is very close to my heart, as I helped out a distressed foreign lady who had given up on Pakistan and its legal system, wrongly believing that she had no rights in Pakistan. I not only helped restore her faith in the Pakistani legal system but also helped her realise that foreigners also have rights under our Constitution and the legal system.

Who influenced you the most to pursue your current line of work?

This is difficult for me to answer as I am self-motivated. I draw my motivation from situations and challenges rather than people. Not that I don’t have people I admire but I cannot say they influence me. I draw inspiration from their struggles and how they have achieved success even when the odds were against them. However, I cannot name one specific person who has influenced me to become a lawyer apart from myself. If I still have to name someone it would be my mother, who somehow knew that I have a knack for the legal profession so she prodded me to become a lawyer, especially at a time, when I had already obtained a professional degree in business, but, she knew that I will not be happy in that profession so she sort of pushed me to go back to university and pursue LLB. The rest as they say is history.