Chaudhry Muhammad Zafarullah Khan

Sir Chaudhry Muhammad Zafarullah Khan was a Pakistani jurist and diplomat who served as the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan from 1947 to 1954. He was also the first Asian and the only Pakistani to serve as the President of both the International Court of Justice and the United Nations General Assembly. He was a prominent member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and a close associate of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the community. He was born in Sialkot in 1893 to a wealthy family of landowners and lawyers. He graduated from the Government College Lahore and the King's College London. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1914. He started his legal career in Sialkot and Lahore and soon became a leading lawyer in the Punjab High Court. He was appointed as a judge of the Federal Court of India in 1935 and served until 1941. He was knighted by King George VI in 1939. He was an active member of the All-India Muslim League and a close aide of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. He participated in the Round Table Conferences in London and played a key role in drafting the Lahore Resolution of 1940, which demanded a separate homeland for the Muslims of India. He was also a member of the Boundary Commission that decided the partition of India in 1947. He moved to Karachi after the creation of Pakistan and became the first Foreign Minister of the new state. He represented Pakistan in various international forums, such as the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the Non-Aligned Movement. He advocated for the rights of the Muslim minorities in India, Palestine, Kashmir, and other regions. He resigned from his post in 1954 and became a judge of the International Court of Justice in The Hague. He served as the Vice-President of the court from 1958 to 1961 and as the President from 1970 to 1973. He was also elected as the President of the UN General Assembly in 1962. He retired from the court in 1973 and devoted his time to writing and preaching about Islam. He authored several books on Islam, such as Islam: Its Meaning for Modern Man, Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets, and Deliverance from the Cross. He also translated the Quran into English under the title The Quran: Arabic Text and English Translation. He was a loyal and devoted follower of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and served as the representative of the community's leader, Mirza Bashiruddin Mahmood Ahmad, at various occasions. He defended the community against the accusations of heresy and apostasy by the orthodox Muslims and faced persecution and discrimination in Pakistan. He died in 1985 in Switzerland and was buried in Rabwah, Pakistan. He is regarded as one of the most eminent and distinguished personalities of Pakistan and a champion of human rights and justice. [1]