The former judge of the Supreme Court, Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, who was recently appointed new president of a investigation panel on forced disappearances, died on Wednesday due to a long illness, said his family.
Last week it arose that the Government had appointed Judge Khokhar as the new president of the Investigation Commission on Forced Disappearance (CID), replacing Javed Iqbal who had directed the panel since September 2011.
Judge Khokhar’s son, Tahir Mehmood, confirmed to Dawn.com that his father died today due to prolonged disease.
The former SC judge had been admitted to Lahore’s Hospital during the last 12 days and was fighting cancer, Mehmood said.
According to an obituary issued by the Superior Court of Lahore (LHC), the funeral of the retired judge will take place at 4:15 pm today after ASR’s sentences in a mosque in phase 8 of the housing authority of City defense (DHA).
Judge Khokhar was one of the four judges who, of the 19 SC judges, at that time, had brought an oath under the provisional constitutional order (PCO) after the proclamation of the state of emergency by former Dictator Gen (retired) Pervez Musharraf In 2007.
The judge had served as an interim electoral commissioner of Pakistan in 2008, according to a press release issued by the Pakistan Electoral Commission.
In August 2009, then President Asif Ali Zardari accepted the resignation of Judge Khokhar, while he and Judge M. Javaid Buttar faced the possibility of being questioned by the Supreme Judicial Council for making an oath under the PCO.