Khwaja MA Samdani

Samdani was born in 1932 in Kareem Nagar, Hyderabad Deccan, and his family migrated to Pakistan after the partition of India in 1947.^[1] After completing his education, he taught at Islamia College Peshawar before joining the civil service and later transitioning to the judiciary. He also pursued an LLM at Yale University on a scholarship.^[1]

In 1972, Samdani was appointed as an additional judge at the Lahore High Court.^[1]

In 1974, during Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's tenure as Prime Minister, anti-Ahmadiyya violence erupted in Pakistan.^[1] Samdani chaired the Rabwah Tribunal, which investigated the violence that took place on 29 May 1974.^[1] Although the full report of the tribunal was not made public, it is noted that Justice Samdani considered the Second Constitutional Amendment, which declared Ahmadis as non-Muslims, to be a form of persecution against a vulnerable minority.^[1]

In a bail in the Nawab Muhammad Ahmed Khan Kasuri murder case against Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, he granted bail to Bhutto despite pressure from the military government led by Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.^[3] Samdani's decision was seen as a display of judicial independence and impartiality.^[3]

In April 1980, while serving as the federal law secretary, Samdani had a confrontation with Zia-ul-Haq over remarks the general had made about secretaries.^[3] Samdani stood his ground and refused to apologise, believing in the correctness of his actions.^[3]

In 1981, Samdani was presented with a new oath containing clauses he deemed unconstitutional.^[3] Rather than comply with these clauses, he chose to retire from his position.^[3][4]