Page 201 - Muzaffargarh Gazzetteer

Musharraf regime, and eventually led to the reinstatement of
the suspended judiciary, including Justice Jillani, on March 23, 2009. On
July 31, 2009, a full 14-member bench, including Justice Jillani, held the
declaration of emergency and imposition of PCO illegal and invalid.

On December 12, 2013 he was appointed the Chief Justice of Pakistan—an
office he held until July 5, 2014.
Considered a progressive judge, Justice Jillani has always been a strong
proponent of civil liberties and fundamental rights, authoring landmark
decisions on women's rights, honour killings, the right to education, and
more. He also authored the decision in the suo moto case pertaining to the
protection of minorities and freedom of religion after the Peshawar church
attack in 2013, widely held as the broadest interpretation of religious
freedom laws in Pakistan's history.

In 2017, Justice Jillani was appointed judge ad hoc on the International
Court of Justice bench hearing the Kulbhushan Jadhav case in Hague. When
the verdict was finally announced in July 2019, Justice Jillani gave a
dissenting note, opposing the Indian point of view.

Justice Jillani has not merely penned down landmark judgments, he has a
keen interest in literature too. He had authored a theme song, Justice for All,
which was sung by various Pakistani singers at the 50th Anniversary of the
Supreme Court of Pakistan, and was later regarded as the Judicial Anthem
of Pakistan. The idea of establishing the Supreme Court Museum was also
said to have been presented for the first time by him in 2010.

Justice Jillani is widely respected in judicial circles and beyond. His name
was even proposed for caretaker prime minister by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
in 2018. He has also been awarded International Justice Excellence Award
for promoting peace at home and around the world in a ceremony held at the
International Institute for Justice, Netherlands on March 28, 2019.

And finally at the Shan-e-Muzaffargarh Awards 2019 held on August 28,
2019, he was able to secure ‘Nishan-e-Muzaffargarh’, which was the highest
award conferred on any living person in the ceremony held in recognition of
all those sons and daughters of the soil who had won laurels for
Muzaffargarh, nationally or internationally.

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