Former Supreme Court Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh passes away

LAHORE: Former judge of the Supreme Court, Justice (retired) Azmat Saeed Sheikh, passed away on Wednesday, in Lahore.

He was 70 years old and had been undergoing treatment for an illness prior to his death, his family members reported.

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Justice Sheikh served on the Supreme Court from 2012 until his retirement in 2019. Before his appointment to the Supreme Court, he held the position of Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court.

Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh was notably part of the bench that adjudicated the Panama Papers case, where former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif was disqualified.

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Born in 1954 in Rawalpindi, Azmat Saeed completed his LLB degree and began his legal career in 1978. He initially practiced in Rawalpindi before relocating to Lahore in 1980, where he gained experience in various law chambers. In 1981, he was enrolled as an Advocate of the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court.

The judge was appointed as a permanent judge of the Supreme Court on June 1, 2012, with oath administered by the then Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. In July 2019, he briefly served as the Acting Chief Justice of Pakistan.

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Throughout his career, Azmat Saeed faced various controversies, including challenging his role as te leader of the inquiry committee for the Broadsheet LLC scandal, which was ultimately rejected.

The government also retracted his selection as an arbitrator in a dispute involving independent power producers.

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His contributions to the judiciary were recognised during a full-court reference held in his honour, where he talked about the importance of an impartial judiciary and the need for uninterrupted justice.