Pakistan’s new Chief Election Commissioner is Ahmedabad-born Gujarati


Ahmedabad, 10 July 2012

Pakistan’s new Chief Election Commissioner Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim is Ahmedabad born Gujarati.

Ebrahim, born Feb 12, 1928 in Gujarati Muslim family of Ahmedabad, was Monday appointed as the chief election commissioner following a parliamentary consensus.

“Ebrahim attended the Gujrat Vidyapith and received an undergraduate degree in law in 1949. He also studied courses based on philosophy and attended lectures given by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. It is believed that his advocacy for non-violence and peace comes from Gandhi’s teachings,” Dawn reported adding that he continues to be inspired by his teachings of non-violence and peace.

Ebrahim migrated to Pakistan in 1950 and attended the Sindh Muslim Law College, where he earned an LLM and was awarded an honorary Juris Doctor in 1960. In 1961, Ebrahim established his own firm while he continued to lecture at the Sindh Law College. In 1971, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto appointed him Attorney General of Pakistan.

Ebrahim also served as the interim Law Minister from 18 July 1993 until 19 October 1993, and interim Justice Minister from 5 November 1996 until 17 February 1997. He is well known as the former Attorney General of Pakistan during the democratic government of former Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and served as his close legal adviser throughout the 1970s. In 1988, he was also Governor of Sindh, appointed by the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto during her first term.