Born on September 27, 1945 at Murree, Islamabad, Pakistan. Barrister Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan comes from a background steeped in politics, being the third generation from his family to serve as an elected member of a legislative assembly. Married, he is the father of two daughters and a son. After his early education at Aitcheson College and the Government College in Lahore, he studied law at Cambridge and was called to the bar at Grays� Inn in 1967.
Upon his return from Cambridge, he appeared for and topped the prestigious Central Superior Services examination. He started his political career in the 1970s when he held the portfolio of Punjab information planning & development minister during Pakistan People�s Party (PPP) government in 1970s.
A senior PPP leader, he has served as the minister for law, justice, interior and education in the federal government between 1988 and 1993.
Elected to the Senate of Pakistan in 1994, he was successively the leader of the house and the leader of the opposition between the years 1996 and 1999. He was jailed several times as a political prisoner without trial for active participation in the Movement for Restoration of Democracy.
He is a senior advocate in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He is also an indefatigable human rights activist and a founder vice-president of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. He has been incarcerated under arbitrary detention laws many times by military and authoritarian regimes. During one such prolonged detention, he wrote �The Indus Saga and the Making of Pakistan� and its Urdu translation, �Sindh Sagar Aur Qayam-e-Pakistan� which present the cultural history of Pakistan.
Elected Member of National Assembly thrice on a PPP ticket, he is one of the country�s most respected politicians for his eloquent and articulate speeches on the floor of the assembly and his knowledge of the law. He also made legal history of sorts by having defended two opposing prime ministers in the court of law. Having previously fought cases in defense of PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto in 2001, he took up a case in defense of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
He also represented Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry when the-then President General Perez Musharif filed a reference against him with the Supreme Judicial Council. This may be the most remarkable thing in his life.
In October 2007, he was elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association.
Areas of his legislative interest include constitutional remedies, corporate reform and human rights. He has been member of the National Assembly�s standing committees on interior and public accounts.
A bitter critic of General Musharif, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan was among the first few persons arrested immediately after imposition the state of emergency by Musharif on November 3, 2007.He was released in February and started whirlwind tour of the country successfully leading the movement of lawyers for reinstatement of the deposed judges. The movement also led to the ouster of General Musharif and the restoration of democratic rule. In March 2012 he was again elected to the Senate.
By leading the Movement for restoration of Democracy against General Zia(1980-1984) and the Lawyer�s Movement against General Musharif (2007-2009), barrister Aitzaz Ahsan has become a sign of resistance to anti-democratic moves. His eloquent speeches and his command over Pakistani law make him one of the most recognizable politicians of today. Aitzaz Ahsan is also an active member of Pakistan Peoples Party.
