LAHORE: Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, son of renowned poet-philosopher Allama Iqbal, passed away at the age of 91 here on Saturday.

Waleed Iqbal, son of Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, confirmed the death of his father saying that he passed away at around 8am this morning. His funeral prayers offered at 4pm in Gulberg area. a large number of people hailing from different sectors of life attended his funeral prayers and prayed for the salvation of the departed soul.

The former justice was under treatment for cancer at the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Lahore.

Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal served as a senior justice at the Supreme Court of Pakistan and previously as the chief justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC).

He is survived by his two sons Waleed and Munib Iqbal and wife Justice (retd) Nasira Iqbal — a former LHC judge.

He was born in October, 1924 in Sialkot, Punjab province, British India. He obtained a BA (honours) degree from Government College Lahore in 1944, a masters degree in English and philosophy in 1948, and a PhD degree in philosophy from the University of Cambridge in 1954 at the age of 30. He then pursued his passion for law, graduating as a barrister in London.

The former justice participated thrice as a member of the Pakistani delegation at the United Nations.

He served as chief justice of LHC from March 1982 till October 1986 and remained a senior judge of the Supreme Court. He also served as an elected member of the Senate.

Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal penned several books on the ideology of Pakistan.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed grief and sorrow over the demise of Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, said a statement issued by the Prime Minister House.

The premier prayed for eternal peace for the departed soul and commiserated with the bereaved family.

The death of Javed Iqbal — who rendered great legal and literary services for the country — is a huge loss to the state of Pakistan, the statement quoted Nawaz as saying. “We lost an intellectual, a great jurist and a true Pakistani,” he said.

President Mamnoon Hussain also condoled the death of Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal whereas Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan lamented the death of Javed Iqbal on Twitter by posting a tweet, “Grieved to learn of the passing of Dr Javed Iqbal, a jurist, scholar & philosopher. His death is a great loss for Pakistan”.