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Mr. Salam brings to this prestigious office rich experience in the legal profession, education, social service and the Judiciary, acquired over a period of almost 38 years. Born in April 1928 at Hansi in District Hissar (India), Mr. Salam graduated from the Government College, Rohtak (India) in 1946. He was then enrolled as a student in the Aligarh Muslim University in M.A. (English) and LL.B and passed Previous Examinations in 1947. On partition, he migrated to Pakistan and obtained the LL.B degree from the University Law College, Punjab University in 1949. For higher education, he went abroad to join University College and obtained the LL.M degree from the University of London; was called to the Bar by the Hon'ble Society of Lincoln's Inn in 1956 and was enrolled as Barrister-at-Law in the Queen's Bench Division, London. He left for the USA and passed his LL.M from the Yale Law School in 1957. On return to Pakistan, Mr. Salam started legal practice in Lahore. He also taught Constitutional Law in the University Law College, Lahore. As a practising lawyer, Mr. Salam was elected Secretary of the Lahore High Court Bar Association in 1961 and President of the Association in 1971. He was elected as a member of the Provincial Bar Council for three consecutive terms. He was elevated to the Bench and appointed a Judge of the Lahore High Court on 2nd October, 1974. His abiding interest in education led Mr. Salam to be associated with a number of institutions of higher learning. He remained a member of the Syndicates of the University of the Punjab and the University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore. He was appointed as a member of the Board of Studies in Law at the Bahauddin Zikriya University, Multan and was nominated by the Federal Ministry of Education as a member of the Board of Governors of the National College of Arts, Lahore. In addition to his duties as Judge of the Lahore High Court, Mr. Justice Salam worked as the Custodian of Evacuee Property, Punjab and was appointed as Chairman of the Provincial Zakat Council from 1982 to 1988 for two successive terms. He was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court in April 1988. He acted as Governor of Punjab for some time. He was appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 13th December, 1989 from where he retired on 31.03.1993. Mr. Salam served as Federal Minister for Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs and Religious & Minorities Affairs from August 01 to October 18, 1993 in the interim Government. Mr. Justice Salam as Federal Ombudsman of Pakistan was elected as the Director representing Asia on the Board of Directors of International Ombudsman Institute (IOI) in 1995. He organised a Conference of Asian Ombudsmen in April 1996. The Conference agreed to form an Asian Ombudsman Association (AOA) and elected him as first Chairman of the Asian Ombudsman Association. He participated in the International Conference of Ombudsmen under the aegis of the IOI in October, 1996 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was elected under the new bye-elections as a Director of the International Ombudsman Institute from the Asian Region. During 1997 he attended the Second Asian Ombudsman Conference, Korea; Australasian and Pacific Ombudsman Conference in Darwin, Australia; Fifth Africa Regional Conference of Ombudsman, Accra, Ghana; Board of Directors, International Ombudsman Institute, Copenhagen; Administrative Counselling and Ombudsman Conference in Sendai City, Japan; and the Seminar arranged by Director General Public Complaints Bureau, Prime Minister's Department Malaysia. In May 1998, Justice Salam attended the Third Asian Ombudsman Conference in Macau. The Asian Ombudsman Association approved the Bye-laws drafted by the Preparatory Committee headed by Justice Salam. Under the Bye-laws, elections of the office holder of the Association were held. The Vice Minister of the People's Republic of China, Mr. Li Zhilun moved the motion that Mr. Salam be elected as the First President of the Asian Ombudsman Association as he had organised the Association, got the Bye-laws of the Association adopted and had been the life and soul of the Association since its inception. The motion was unanimously applauded and approved. Justice Salam was elected as the First President of the Asian Ombudsman Association for a term of two years. In view of the "personal involvement", the development of the Asian Ombudsman Association in the Asian Region, "which was hazardous" and his contribution in the Reforms Committee of the International Ombudsman Institute and advancement of the "Concept of Ombudsman", Mr. Justice (Rtd) A. S. Salam on his retirement as an Ombudsman has been elected as an Honorary Life Member of the International Ombudsman Institute. |
Mr. Justice
(Rtd) Abdul Shakurul Salam was administered oath of the office of Wafaqi
Mohtasib (Ombudsman) of Pakistan by the President of the Islamic Republic of
Pakistan at the Governor's House, Lahore on 28th March, 1995.