Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry

Before the independence in 1947 Chaudhry Jan Muhammad was posted from Jalandhar, India to Quetta, Baluchistan.

He spent the rest of his life in Quetta, Baluchistan.

Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (born 12 December 1948) is a Pakistani jurist who served as the 20th Chief Justice of Pakistan over three non-consecutive terms from 29 June 2005 to 11 December 2013.

Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was born on 12 December 1948 into Rajput family in Quetta, Balochistan Province, Pakistan.

His father, Chaudhry Jan Muhammad, was a police constable.

He joined the bar in 1974.

Chaudhry began practice as an advocate of the Sindh High Court in 1976, before shifting to his native Quetta and later serving as Advocate General of Balochistan, Pakistan.

He was enrolled as an Advocate of the High Court in 1976 and as an Advocate of the Supreme Court in 1985.

He was elected as president of the Balochistan High Court Bar Association, Quetta in 1986 and was elected twice as member of the Bar Council.

He was appointed Advocate General of Balochistan in 1989.

He also discharged duties as Banking Judge Special Court for Speedy Trials, Judge Customs Appellate Court as well as Company Judge.

In 1989 he was appointed Advocate General, Balochistan by Akbar Bugti, the then Chief Minister of Balochistan.

In 1990, he was appointed as an additional judge at the Balochistan High Court.

He was appointed as Chairman Provincial Review Board for the Province of Balochistan on the recommendations of Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan.

He was appointed twice as Chairman of Pakistan Red Crescent Society Balochistan by the Government of Balochistan.

He was appointed as Chairman of the Balochistan Local Council Election Authority in 1992 and thereafter for a second term in 1998.

He ascended as a senior advocate at Supreme Court before taking a government law assignment in Quetta.

In 1999 he was nominated as Chief justice of the Balochistan High Court by the President Rafiq Tarar.

Chaudhry lived in Quetta before moving to Islamabad, when he was elevated judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2000.

Chaudhry has three brothers who are settled abroad and he is the second eldest child of his parents.

Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is married to Faiqa Iftikhar and has five children.

His two sons are Arsalan Iftikhar Chaudhry and Ahmed Balach Iftikhar.

He has three daughters, Ayesha Iftikhar, Ifrah Iftikhar and Palwasha Iftikhar.

Rana Sanaullah Khan is a cousin of former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

Chaudry Iftikhar is fluent in Urdu, English, Balochi, Brahui, Punjabi and Pashto.

Chaudhry has a Bachelors in Arts and Bachelors in Law (LLB) from the University of Sindh, Jamshoro.

The same year, he controversially took oath under Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf, validating the LFO ordnance No. 2002, and ascended to the Supreme Court in 2002.

On 30 June 2005, President Musharraf appointed Chaudhry as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

On 9 March 2007, Musharraf asked Chaudhry to resign, which he refused to do, and was suspended from office.

The resultant civil disorder led to the Lawyers' Movement, which succeeded in the restoration of Chaudhry as Chief Justice on 20 July 2007.

However, Musharraf declared a state of emergency in November, arresting Chaudhry as well as suspending 60 other judges from the judiciary.

Following the lifting of the emergency in December and the general elections in 2008, the government was routed, and Musharraf resigned under threat of impeachment.

Asif Ali Zardari succeeded Musharraf as president, but also postponed Chaudhry's restoration.

This led to the Lawyers' Movement culminating in the Long March by Zardari's political rival Sharif, and the restoration of the Chaudhry-led judiciary on 22 March 2009.

After proceeding the notice of contempt against the Prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani who forcefully refused to direct a letter to Swiss authorities over President's hidden assets in Swiss Banks, Chaudry retroactively discharged and ousted Gillani and his government on 26 April 2012.

Chaudhry stepped down on 12 December 2013.

The movement for Chaudhry's restoration garnered world attention, while his term as Chief Justice witnessed unprecedented judicial activism, including the suo motu notice of controversial privatization of the Pakistan Steel Mills, leading the case of missing persons in Balochistan, arguing and issuing orders against the New Murree project regarding as environmental catastrophe, and ruling the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) as unconstitutional and irrelevant.

He retired on 12 December 2013 as Chief Justice.

Chaudhry's legacy is described as having "repurposed a once supine judiciary as a fiercely independent force", but he has also been criticized for judicial overreach and allegations of misuse of office.

On 25 December 2015, Chaudhry announced the formation of the Pakistan Justice Democratic Critic Party headed by himself.