Zeshan Haider
Sometimes some personalities appear in a person’s life that a person becomes a captive of these personalities. These charming personalities are different from ordinary personalities that a person wants to meet again and again. It is the vital role of the writer to introduce such attractive and impressive personalities whom services for public and society are meritorious. Such rare and precious personalities are so that other people can also make such personalities a beacon of light.
I was also impressed by one such personality whose heart was always restless to meet him. This personality is the late Mr. Ghulam Mehdi Khan. He was a judge by profession. Author’s childhood and youth were spent in his proximity. My association with this understanding and righteous person lasted for almost forty years. The late Ghulam Mehdi was a symbol of justice of Punjab District judiciary. He had a good grasp on civil law.
He was considered one of the most worthy judges in the district judiciary of Punjab. Most of his decisions were upheld up to the Supreme Court. In 1988, he was appointed as a civil judge and while progressing, he retired from Judiciary service as session judge. He was a messiah for the people of the area. Public welfare works in his native town Sahiwal Tehsil, Sargodha District were part of his life. He gave special importance to social tolerance, Caring for orphans, compassion for the poor, and being involved in the happiness of the people were the prominent aspects of his personality.
He was caring and loving. He was a big support for the helpless peoples. The judge looked very happy in his quiet manner, especially when he performed any public welfare or any construction work of the mosque of his village, there was joy and satisfaction on his face. Undoubtedly, there are ups and downs in the mutual relations between human beings. It is a natural process that hatred, conflicts, and resentment arise in mutual relations. The specialty his personality was that he always considered the bad things temporary and the love permanent. This was the reason why people of every school of thought sincerely respected him.
He would rise above religious prejudices and caste and take the lead in helping the oppressed, orphans and the helpless. Taking special interest, the Mehdi Khan remained engrossed in the decoration and construction of the Jamia Masjid of his area until his death. He was strongly against sectarianism. He was a proponent of inter-Muslim unity. People belonging to every sect respected him because serving humanity was his life’s mission. He would help the poor and needy of the area wholeheartedly.
Apart from this, spending money in religious matters was his specialty. He was a source of humility and modesty. Despite being a session judge, he maintained relationship with his poor friends. Whenever he met a friend on the way, he would stop and ask about their well-being. He was at the forefront of religious and welfare issues. The pain of humanity always remained in his heart. After all, symbol of humanity and a great jurist left us on October 15, 2025. Everyone was sad after hearing the tragic news of the death of Mehdi Judge.
People of all ages were a picture of pain from head to toe. There was no eye that was not filled with tears. On everyone’s lips was “Ah, Judge.” While I was writing this, a great name of Punjab Judiciary, Safdar Jasra, District and Sessions Judge reached to express his condolences to the family of the deceased. For some time, words could not come out of his mouth due to grief and the flow of tears from his eyes indicated how sad Safdar Jasra was on the loss of his friend.
He went to Mehdi khan’s grave and saluted the grave , When he reached deceased home, he saluted Mehdi khan’s picture, When he sat in the car, he saluted the name plate outside the house and left with a heavy heart saying that he had lost a great jurist and a great friend. Mr. Safdar Jasra express that Mehdi Khan has been an enormous asset to the district judiciary of Punjab, throughout his time on the bench and the court have also benefitted from his intellect and rich experience.
The Senior Representative of Rawalpindi Bar Asif Raza Bhatti Advocate expressed about the late Judge of District court Rawalpindi that Ghulam Mehdi Khan was very hardworking judge who delivered land mark judgements during his tenure as Session Judge Rawalpindi, he added that I have no words to pay homage to the late judge a great human being a jurist. He served in various positions i.e. Civil Judge, Deputy Secretary Law Punjab, Senior Civil Judge, Session judge. He served in all over the Punjab as a Judge. It is on the record that during his period as a Judge he decided thousands pending cases, he was the toper judge whom decided thousands cases in a short period, he was a role model for other judges.
