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Ex-president justice (retd) Muhammad Rafiq Tarar passes away in Lahore at age of 92  

LAHORE, Mar 07 (SABAH): Former president and Supreme Court of Pakistan former judge Muhammad Rafiq Tarar passed away in Lahore on Monday, according to his grandson and fellow Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Additional Secretary General Ataullah Tarar Advocate. He was 92.

Taking to Twitter, Attaullah Tarar said,” My grandfather Muhammad Rafiq Tarar passed away.”

His funeral prayers will be offered at Jamia Ashrafia, Lahore at 4.45pm after Asr prayers today and his second funeral prayer will be offered at his native town in Gakhar on Peer Kot Road Old Eidgah at 8:30 PM.

Muhammad Rafiq Tarar had served as the president of the country for around three and a half years. He had taken the oath as the head of the state on Jan 1, 1998 and remained in the office till June 20, 2001.

He was nominated for the president’s office by then prime minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.

Before stepping into politics with the PML-N, Tarar had also served as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan from January 17, 1991 to November 1, 1994.

Prior to it, he was also the chief justice of the Lahore High Court from March 6, 1989 to October 31, 1991.

Following his retirement from the judiciary, Tarar had joined the PML-N and soon he was named as a legal advisor to the party’s supremo Nawaz Sharif.

Meanwhile PML-N President Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif remembered the deceased as a “kind and compassionate elder, shrewd legislator, fair judge and very good man”. He said the news of the former president’s death was a personal shock for him and his absence would always be felt.

President Dr. Arif Alvi also expressed grief over the death and offered prayers for the deceased along with extending condolences to his family.

Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa has expresseed heartfelt condolences on the sad demise of former President of Pakistan Muhammad Rafiq Tarar. “May Allah bless his soul & give strength to the bereaved family to bear this irreparable loss, Ameen”, COAS. The statement of COAS was released by DG ISPR Major General Babar Iftikhar on twitter.

Meanwhile PML-N Secretary General Ahsan Iqbal Chaudhry also had high words of regard for the deceased. He said Tarar had persevered, “courageously” confronted the martial law of former military ruler retired Gen Pervez Musharraf and refused to resign as the president.