S. M. Zafar
Syed Muhammad Zafar (born 6th of December 1930) is one of the more prominent Pakistani human rights activists, a noted lawyer (Senior Advocate Supreme Court), a politician, and a former member of the Senate of Pakistan. For some time, he was affiliated with the Pakistan Muslim League (Q). Career. Zafar began his career as a lawyer in the 1950s. He played an important role during the 1958 imposition of martial law in Pakistan and again in forcing amendments to Constitution of Pakistan of 1962, which at first did not have sufficient protections for basic human rights. After  serving as a judge of the high court and as Pakistan's Minister for Law and Justice from 1965 to 1969, Zafar retired from the government in 1968 and started his own law practice. Zafar and a few of his contemporaries founded the Human Rights Society of Pakistan in 1976. He was awarded an honorary PhD degree in law at the University of the Punjab's 124th convocation. He retired from active law practice in 2014. News media commentator. After retirement from his official government service in 1968, he has been a frequent commentator on current affairs in Pakistan. Personal  life. Zafar was born on 6 December 1930 in Rangoon, Burma, where his father worked in the construction business. His family hailed from the town of Shakargarh in Punjab. Following the Japanese occupation of Burma, his family returned to their native village in 1944.