Editing Muhammad Rafiq Tarar

{{Short description|President of Pakistan from 1998 to 2001}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Muhammad Rafiq Tarar
| native_name         = {{nobold|محمد رفیق تارڑ}}
| native_name_lang    = ur
| honorific-suffix    = 
| image               = Pride of Performance Award by President of Pakistan (cropped head).jpg
| image_size          = 
| smallimage          = <!--If this is specified, "image" should not be.-->
| alt                 = 
| caption             = Tarar in 2000
| order               = 
| office              = 9th [[President of Pakistan]]
| term_start          = 1 January 1998
| term_end            = 20 June 2001
| alongside           = <!--For two or more people serving in the same position from the same district.  (e.g. United States Senators.)-->
| monarch             = 
| president           = 
| governor_general    = 
| primeminister       = [[Nawaz Sharif]]<br>(1998–1999)
| 1blankname          = {{nowrap|Chief Executive}}
| 1namedata           = [[Pervez Musharraf]]<br>(1999–2001)
| taoiseach           = 
| chancellor          = 
| governor            = 
| vicepresident       = 
| viceprimeminister   = 
| deputy              = 
| lieutenant          = 
| succeeding          = <!--For President-elect or equivalent-->
| constituency        = 
| predecessor         = [[Wasim Sajjad]] (Acting)
| successor           = [[Pervez Musharraf]]
| majority            = 
| prior_term          = [[Wasim Sajjad]]
| order2              = [[Senate of Pakistan|Member of Senate of Pakistan]]
| appointer2          = 
| term_start2         = 1996
| term_end2           = 1998
| successor2          = [[Rafique Rajwana]]
| order3              = [[List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan|Senior Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan]]
| appointer3          = [[Ghulam Ishaq Khan]]
| nominator3          = [[Benazir Bhutto]]
| term_start3         = 17 January 1992
| term_end3           = 1 November 1994
| order4              = [[List of the Chief Justices of Lahore High Court|Chief Justice of the Lahore High Court]]
| appointer4          = [[Tikka Khan]]
| term_start4         = 6 March 1989
| term_end4           = 31 October 1991
| predecessor4        = Abdul Shakurul Salam
| successor4          = Mian Mahboob Ahmad
| birth_name          = Muhammad Rafiq
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1929|11|2|df=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Mandi Bahauddin]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj|British India]] {{small|(Now, [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]])}}
| death_date          = {{death date and age|2022|3|7|1929|11|2|df=y}}
| death_place         = [[Lahore]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]]
| restingplace        = 
| restingplacecoordinates = 
| nationality         = Pakistani
| party               = [[Pakistan Muslim League (N)]]
| otherparty          = <!--For additional political affiliations-->
| spouse              = 
| partner             = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married-->
| relatives           = [[Saira Afzal Tarar]] (daughter-in-law)<br> [[Attaullah Tarar]] (grandson)<br> [[Bilal Farooq Tarar]] (grandson)
| brother             = 
| parents             = 
| residence           = 
| education           = 
| alma_mater          = [[Government Islamia College, Gujranwala]] {{smaller|([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])}}<br> [[University of the Punjab]] {{smaller|([[Bachelor of Law|LLB]])}}
| occupation          = 
| profession          = Jurist
| cabinet             = [[Nawaz Sharif|Sharif Cabinet]]
| committees          = 
| portfolio           = 
| blank1              = 
| data1               = 
| blank2              = 
| data2               = 
| blank3              = 
| data3               = 
| blank4              = 
| data4               = 
| blank5              = 
| data5               = 
| signature           = 
| signature_alt       = 
| website             = <!--Military service-->
| nickname            = 
| allegiance          = 
| branch              = 
| serviceyears        = 
| rank                = 
| unit                = 
| commands            = 
| battles             = 
| awards              = 
| military_blank1     = 
| military_data1      = 
| military_blank2     = 
| military_data2      = 
| military_blank3     = 
| military_data3      = 
| military_blank4     = 
| military_data4      = 
| military_blank5     = 
| military_data5      = <!--Embedded templates / Footnotes-->
| module              = 
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| footnotes           = 
}}

'''Muhammad Rafiq Tarar''' ({{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Rafiq Tarar from Pakistan pronunciation (Voice of America).ogg|r|ə|ˈ|f|iː|k|_|t|ə|ˈ|r|ɑː|r}}; {{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|محمد رفیق تارڑ}}}}; 2 November 1929 – 7 March 2022) was a Pakistani politician and jurist who served as the ninth [[president of Pakistan]] from January 1998 until his resignation in June 2001, and prior to that as a [[Senate of Pakistan|senator]] from [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] in 1997. Before entering politics, Tarar served as [[List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan|senior justice]] of the [[Supreme Court of Pakistan]] from 1992 to 1994 and as the 28th [[Chief Justice of Lahore High Court]] from 1989 to 1991.<ref name="BBC Pakistan Bureau">{{cite news |title=Tarar sworn in as Pakistani president|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/43645.stm|access-date=28 January 2015 |publisher=BBC News |date=1 January 1998|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072110/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/43645.stm|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Tarar was born in [[Mandi Bahauddin]], and graduated with [[Bachelor of Law|LLB]] from [[University of the Punjab]] in 1951, before starting practice as a [[lawyer]] in [[Lahore High Court]] the following year.<ref name="Rafiq Tarar's Academic career">{{cite web| url= https://storyofpakistan.com/muhammad-rafiq-tarar| title= Rafiq Tarar's Academic career| access-date= 26 October 2019| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191020015958/https://storyofpakistan.com/muhammad-rafiq-tarar| archive-date= 20 October 2019| url-status= dead}}</ref> In 1966, he pursued a career as a jurist. Tarar later served as a justice in Pakistan's highest courts. After his retirement at 65, he started a political career as a legal advisor to [[Nawaz Sharif]]. Tarar became a senator from Punjab in 1997 and the same year nominated as presidential candidate by [[Pakistan Muslim League (N)|PML-N]], but his nomination paper was rejected by the Acting Chief Election Commissioner. Barrister Ijaz Husain Batalvi assisted by M. A. Zafar and Akhtar Aly Kureshy Advocate, challenged his rejection in [[Lahore High Court]] and the Full Bench set aside the rejection order of the Election Commission<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/despatches/55007.stm|title = BBC News &#124; Despatches &#124; Court rules in favour of Pakistan President}}</ref> and he was elected president of Pakistan in the presidential election by a margin of 374 out of 457 votes of the [[Electoral College (Pakistan)|Electoral College]].<ref name="President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar">{{cite web|url=http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/index.php?lang=en&opc=2&sel=4&pId=9|title=Previous Presidents: Mr. Muhammad Rafiq Tarar|publisher=Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan|access-date=9 May 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130425051615/http://presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/index.php?lang=en&opc=2&sel=4&pId=9|archive-date=25 April 2013}}</ref>

Tarar assumed office in January 1998 with heavy criticism by opposition especially from former Prime Minister [[Benazir Bhutto]] who accused him of illegally legitimizing dismissal of her government as a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. As [[head of state]], Tarar shifted Pakistan's system of government from [[semi-presidential]] system to parliamentary democratic system by signing the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan|Thirteenth Constitutional Amendment]]. He surrendered his [[reserve power]] of dismissing the Prime Minister, triggering new elections and dissolving the [[National Assembly of Pakistan|National Assembly]]. He also signed the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan|Fourteenth]] and [[Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan|Fifteenth]] amendment to the [[Constitution of Pakistan|constitution]] that limited the powers of the presidency from [[Executive (government)|executive]] to a [[figurehead]].<ref name="The Constitution (13th Amendment Act)">{{cite book|title=Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan|year=1973|publisher=12th Parliament of Pakistan|author=12th Parliament of Pakistan|edition=13th Amendment|author-link=Parliament of Pakistan}}</ref>

Tarar resigned as President in 2001 in the wake of the [[1999 Pakistani coup d'état]].<ref name="Tarar in Daily Dawn">{{cite web| url= https://www.dawn.com/news/103995/tarar-claims-he-is-still-president| title= Tarar claims he is still president| date= 29 May 2003| access-date= 19 October 2019| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20191019105045/https://www.dawn.com/news/103995/tarar-claims-he-is-still-president| archive-date= 19 October 2019| url-status= live}}</ref> He resisted and did not endorse the 12 October 1999 military coup. He was forced to step down by then Chief Executive [[Pervez Musharraf]] and ultimately succeeded by Musharraf through a [[2002 Pakistani referendum|referendum]] held in 2002.<ref name="The Hindu">{{cite news|last1=Reddy|first1=B. Muralidhar|title=Rafiq Tarar forced to quit?|url=http://www.thehindu.com/2001/06/21/stories/01210002.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150128021108/http://www.thehindu.com/2001/06/21/stories/01210002.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 January 2015|access-date=28 January 2015|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=21 June 2001}}</ref> Twenty months after seizing power in a coup, General Musharraf took the head of state's oath and became the fourth military ruler to become president.<ref name="The Telegraph">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/1310136/Coup-chief-declares-himself-president.html |title=Coup chief declares himself president |date=21 June 2001 |access-date=21 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021212044/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/1310136/Coup-chief-declares-himself-president.html|archive-date=21 October 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Muhammad Rafiq Tarar was born in [[Mandi Bahauddin]], [[British Raj|British India]], on 2 November 1929 to a Tarar family.<ref name="Rafiq Tarar Birth Place">{{cite web| url= http://www.urdubiography.com/politicians/muhammad-rafiq-tarar.html| title= Rafiq Tarar's BirthPlace| access-date= 9 January 2015| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171010093725/http://www.urdubiography.com/politicians/muhammad-rafiq-tarar.html| archive-date= 10 October 2017| url-status= live}}</ref> Tarar was influenced by [[Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari]] and he took a part in political sessions of [[Majlis-e-Ahrar-e-Islam]] during British colonial rule. In his college years, he was also an activist for the [[All-India Muslim League]] and was a follower of [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]].<ref>{{harvtxt|Chitkara|2001|pp=118–119}}</ref> During the [[partition of India]], Tarar performed voluntary duty as a relief worker in camps set up by the [[All India Muslim Students Federation]] for Indian emigrants. He graduated with [[Bachelor of Arts|BA]] in [[Islamic Studies]] from [[Government Islamia College, Gujranwala]] in 1949. He acquired [[Bachelor of Law|LLB]] degree in 1951 from [[Punjab University Law College]].<ref name="Rafiq Tarar's Academic career"/>

==Judicial and political career==
Tarar started a career as a lawyer, soon after completion of his studies. In 1951, he enrolled as a pleader in the [[Lahore High Court]]. He started practicing as an advocate in the same court, in later years. He established a [[Gujranwala]]-based legal aid firm in 1960s and excelled at [[advocacy]]. In 1966, Tarar started a judicial career after he appeared and passed the competitive exams to be elevated as session judge in [[Judiciary of Pakistan#District judiciary|District Courts]]. In 1971, he became Chairman of the Punjab Labor Court. Tarar was appointed a judge at Lahore High Court, highest appellate judicial court of Punjab province, in October 1974.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allamaiqbal.com/webcont/393/MuhammadRafiqTararelectedasPresident[1997].html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150111091618/http://www.allamaiqbal.com/webcont/393/MuhammadRafiqTararelectedasPresident[1997].html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 January 2015 |title=Rafiq Tarar's judicial career|publisher=Allama Iqbal Academy|access-date=27 October 2019}}</ref>
[[File:Lahore_High_Court_Building.jpg|thumb|[[Lahore High Court]]]] 
Tarar served in the Lahore High Court as a justice for decades. He was also a member of the [[Election Commission of Pakistan]] where he represented Punjab. He was appointed the 28th [[Chief Justice of Lahore High Court]] where he served from 1989 to 1991 until his appointment as a judge in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. His appointment was made by then president [[Ghulam Ishaq Khan]] with the consent of Supreme Judicial Council. He served as a senior justice of the [[Supreme Court of Pakistan]] from January 1992 to November 1994. He was also an awaiting candidate of the [[Chief Justice of Pakistan]] but he retired earlier on attaining the age of 65 years and started a political career.<ref name="President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar"/> In 1994, following his retirement from the judiciary, Tarar entered into politics and started a political career as a legal adviser and close aide to then opposition leader [[Nawaz Sharif]]. In March 1997, he became a [[Senate of Pakistan|senator]] and represented [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] in the upper-house of Pakistan until his resignation in December 1997. He was nominated as the presidential candidate by the [[Pakistan Muslim League (N)|PML(N)]] in the same year and secured a historical victory in the presidential election.<ref name="BBC Pakistan Bureau"/>

==Presidency (1998–2001)==
===Initial days===
After [[Farooq Leghari]]'s resignation in 1997, he was nominated as a candidate for the [[president of Pakistan]].<ref name="BBC Pakistan Bureau"/> On 31 December 1997, in an [[1997 Pakistani presidential election|indirect election]], Tarar was elected by a huge margin,<ref name="President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar"/> getting 374 of 457 votes of the [[Electoral College (Pakistan)|Electoral College]] against [[Aftab Shahban Mirani|Aftab Mirani]] of [[Pakistan Peoples Party|PPP]] (a [[Pakistan Muslim League (N)|PML(N)]]'s rival) who got 31 votes, and Muhammad Khan Shirani of [[JUI(S)]] who got 22 votes. This was the largest margin in such elections. Upon his election, former Prime Minister [[Benazir Bhutto]] delivered a speech in London to the Commonwealth Ethnic Bar Association and criticized his election. She accused him of being dishonest by saying "A former judge [Tarar] who dishonestly legitimized the overthrow of my first government was elected president of Pakistan. This same man stands accused by a former President [[Farooq Leghari]] of taking briefcases of money to bribe other judges in the famous 1997 case. The Election Commission rejected Justice Tarar's nomination for the presidency. Justice Qayyum, on leave for his mother's funeral, rushed back to grant a stay, and Tarar was elected. As for the bribery charges, Tarar, as a former judge, like former generals, is immune to prosecution in real terms."<ref name="Daily DAWN story">{{cite news|last1=Ardeshir Cowasjee|title=Benazir Bhutto criticized Tarar's appointment as a President|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1072352|access-date=22 October 2019|agency=Daily Dawn|newspaper=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]|date=5 November 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191021202357/https://www.dawn.com/news/1072352|archive-date=21 October 2019|url-status=live|author1-link=Ardeshir Cowasjee}}</ref>

===Nuclear Program===
During his tenure as President, Tarar played a significant role in Pakistan's nuclear program. Advised by his brother, Colonel Muzafar Tarar, Tarar pursued policies aimed at enhancing the country's nuclear capabilities. Colonel Tarar's insights and expertise, particularly regarding Bhutto's nuclear program, became instrumental in guiding Pakistan's nuclear policy during their tenure. The successful continuation and advancement of Pakistan's nuclear program became one of the highlights of their joint efforts. In addition to his contributions to the nuclear program, Tarar focused on issues related to law and order, education, and social welfare during his presidency. He advocated for the strengthening of democratic institutions and the rule of law, promoting harmony and understanding among different segments of Pakistani society. His family remains influential in the country's political landscape. Colonel Tarar served in the Pakistan Army and held various command positions during his military career. Colonel Tarar is renowned for his invaluable contributions to Pakistan's national security, particularly in the realm of the nuclear program. Colonel Tarar's strategic advice and expertise were pivotal in shaping Pakistan's nuclear policy, ensuring the successful continuation and advancement of the program. His insights into Bhutto's nuclear art program, shared with President Tarar, played a crucial role in guiding Pakistan's nuclear strategy during their tenure. After retiring from the military, Colonel Tarar has been involved in philanthropic activities, supporting initiatives aimed at the welfare of veterans and their families.

===Constitutional reforms===
Upon becoming President, Tarar was an unassuming and merely ceremonial [[figurehead]] who kept a low profile, and avoided [[Media of Pakistan|news media]], and he remained a devoted servant and loyalist of the Sharif family. He readily signed the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan|Thirteenth]], [[Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan|Fourteenth]], and [[Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan|Fifteenth]] amendments to the [[Constitution of Pakistan|Constitution]] of Pakistan that limited the powers of the presidency.<ref>{{harvtxt|Jones|2003|pp=31–35}}</ref>

The President of Pakistan's powers had thus been slowly removed over the years, culminating in the 1997 [[Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan]] which removed virtually all remaining [[reserve power]]s, making the office almost entirely symbolic in nature as per the true spirit of the [[Constitution of Pakistan|Pakistani constitution]].<ref name="The Constitution (13th Amendment Act)"/>

===Resignation===
Tarar did not endorse the [[1999 Pakistani coup d'état]] by the [[Pakistani military]] which elevated General [[Pervez Musharraf]], [[Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee]], since he was an appointee of [[Nawaz Sharif]]. The [[Pakistani military]] thus decided not to retain Tarar as the President for his full term of five years, given his partisan attitude. On 21 June 2001, General Musharraf who acted as Chief Executive in capacity, enforced the [[Legal Framework Order, 2002]]; Musharraf removed Tarar as he read the paragraph: "Mr. Muhammad Rafiq Tarar has ceased to hold the office of the President with immediate effect."<ref name="Tarar forced to quit">{{cite news|title=Rafiq Tarar forced to quit?|url=http://www.thehindu.com/2001/06/21/stories/01210002.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150128021108/http://www.thehindu.com/2001/06/21/stories/01210002.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 January 2015|access-date=31 May 2016|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=21 June 2001}}</ref><ref name="The Hindu"/>

==Death==
Tarar retired from politics and settled in [[Lahore]], where he died after a long illness on 7 March 2022, at the age of 92.<ref name="The Hindu"/><ref>{{Cite news|url = https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-elections-lahore-parliamentary-elections-nawaz-sharif-1c123f255b53e4baa5b827f7fc419746|title = Former Pakistani President Rafiq Tarar dies at 92|work = [[Associated Press]]|date = 7 March 2022|accessdate = 7 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Hussain |first = Javed |date=7 March 2022 |title=Former president and PML-N leader Rafiq Tarar passes away in Lahore at 92 |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1678750 |access-date=7 March 2022 |work = [[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]] |language=en}}</ref>

== Also See ==
* [[Supreme Court of Pakistan]]
* [[Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan]]

==References==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Cited works and general bibliography ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Chitkara|first1=M. G.|title=Indo-Pak Relations: Challenges Before New Millennium|date=2001|publisher=APH Publishing|location=New Delhi, India|isbn=8176482722|pages=118|edition=1st |chapter=Muhammad Rafiq Tarar |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gr5IoddTKb8C&q=rafiq+tarar&pg=PA118 |access-date=28 January 2015 |via=Google Books}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Jones|first1=Owen Bennette|title=Pakistan: Eye of the Storm|date=2003|publisher=Yale University Press|location=Texas, U.S|isbn=0300101473 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t8iYEgPYG_EC&q=rafiq+tarar&pg=PA36|access-date=28 January 2015 |via=Google Books |chapter=The 1999 Coup}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Preston|first1=Ian|title=A Political Chronology of Central, South and East Asia|date=2003|publisher=Psychology Press|location=London |isbn=1857431146|edition=1st|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TtwTXyM65J4C&q=rafiq+tarar+president+1997&pg=PA229|access-date=28 January 2015 |via=Google Books |chapter=Pakistan}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Zakaria|first1=Rafiq|title=The Man Who Divided India: An Insight into Jinnah's Leadership and Its Aftermath|date=2001|publisher=Popular Prakashan|location=New Delhi, India|isbn=817154892X|pages=282}}
{{Refend}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-legal}}
{{s-bef|before=Abdul Shakurul Salam}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Chief Justice of Lahore High Court]]|years=1989–1991}}
{{s-aft|after=Mian Mahboob Ahmad}}
|-
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Wasim Sajjad]]<br>{{small|Acting}}}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[President of Pakistan]]|years=1998–2001}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pervez Musharraf]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Presidents of Pakistan}}
{{Chief Justices of Lahore High Court}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarar, Muhammad Rafiq}}
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:2022 deaths]]
[[Category:Chief justices of the Lahore High Court]]
[[Category:Deaths from coronary artery disease]]
[[Category:Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Members of the Senate of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Pakistan Movement activists]]
[[Category:Pakistan Muslim League (N) politicians]]
[[Category:Pakistani democracy activists]]
[[Category:Pakistani jurists]]
[[Category:Pakistani Muslims]]
[[Category:People from Gujranwala]]
[[Category:Presidents of Pakistan]]
[[Category:University of the Punjab alumni]]
[[Category:People from Punjab Province (British India)]]