I am a Barrister of the Lincoln’s Inn, London and an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, with degrees in Law and Economics.I have eighteen(18) years of post-qualification experience in diverse areas of legal practice.

I am a Partner of Khan & Muezzin – Barristers, Advocates & Legal Counsel (www.khanandmuezzin.com) and an internationally ranked lawyer, recognized by Chambers & Partners (Chambers Global 2016 & 2015) (www.chambersandpartners.com).

EDUCATION                                                                                                                                       

EMPLOYMENT                                                                                                                                    

2007todate              Khan & Muezzin (www.khanandmuezzin.com):Partner

2007-2010               Huawei Technologies (www.huawei.com): LegalConsultant

2006-2007               Huawei Technologies Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd: Senior Legal Counsel & Head of Legal 2004-2006    Kundi & Kundi, Advocates & Legal Consultants (www.kundilaw.com): Associate 2003-2004                Amhurst Brown – Solicitors & Barristers:Associate

2001-2002               Amhurst Brown – Solicitors & Barristers: JuniorAssociate

REPRESENTATIVE  WORK EXPERIENCE                                                                                           

1.         TELECOMMUNICATION:

▪             Project Bidding: I have provided legal support to various telecom companies for infrastructure projects at the tender / bidding stage, including the preparation and review of bidding documents (responses to RFPs), as well as advising on compliance with local procurementlaws.

▪             Contracts: I have drafted, reviewed and negotiated hundreds of contracts for both turnkey and non-turnkey projects in the telecom sector (e.g. supply / purchase agreements, service / implementation contracts, O&M contracts, SLAs, Software Development Contracts, Master Purchase Agreements, Interconnection Agreements, Civil Work Contracts, NDAs, MoUs, POs, Software Licensing Agreements, Amendments, LOIs and other miscellaneousdocumentation).

▪             Negotiations & out-of-courtsettlements:

(i)    AdvisedHuaweiontherecoveryofUS$175millionfromWaridTelecomonaccountofequipmentsuppliedandservices provided.Initiatedtheprocessofrecoverythroughalegalnotice,representedHuaweiinnegotiationswiththeoperator and devised a strategy to successfully recover the said amount from Warid through an out-of-courtsettlement.

(ii)   Successfullyreachedanout-of-courtsettlementinaclaimofUS$5millionasLiquidatedDamages(LDs)raisedbyRoshan Telecom against Huawei in respect of an allegedly defective IN system. Negotiated this issue with their senior management in Dubai and settled this matter at a nominalfigure.

(iii)NegotiatedandsubstantiallyreducedtheLiquidatedDamagesfigureofUS$50millionclaimedbyPTML(Ufone)against Huawei for delayed projectcompletion.

▪             Regulatory Issues: I have been providing legal opinions to cellular mobile operators on various regulatory issues (e.g. matters pertaining to the legality of (i) various charges imposed by PTA; (ii) establishment of a Content Filtering System; (iii) sharing of an operator’s subscriber information with third parties; (iv) interconnection arrangements with LDI operators, etc). I have also been representing operators at hearings before the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority on various regulatory issues. I also advised an international satellite operator in court proceedings before the Commercial High Court, London, UK, on telecom regulatory issues under Pakistanilaw.

▪             Dispute resolution: Regularly representing the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) before the superior courts of the country in writ petitions, appeals and civil suits filed by its licensees (GSM, Fixed Line and LDI operators) against various decisions / determinations of the PTA on regulatory matters (e.g. imposition of fees, charges, fines and penalties etc). Also appearing on behalf of operators in hearings before the PTA pertaining to alleged violations of the terms & conditions of theirlicense(s)and/ortherelevantlaws,rules&regulations.Representingoperatorsinlitigationpertainingtomiscellaneous matters before the High Court and the Supreme Court ofPakistan.

2.         CONSTRUCTION:

▪             Legal Advice: I acted as an external legal consultant to the National Highway Authority (NHA) from 2007 till 2015 and provided legal advice on a regular basis upon a plethora of legal issues pertaining to construction projects throughout Pakistan.Thisincludedinteraliaadviceontheinterpretationofstatutes,rules,regulationsandapplicabilitythereoftoNHA.

▪             Drafting: I have reviewed, drafted and prepared various types of legal documentation e.g. bidding documents, construction contracts, concession agreements, O&M contracts, general supply agreements and performancebonds/guarantees.

▪             DisputeResolution:Ihavesuccessfullyhandledlitigation,aswellasanumberofarbitrations,pertainingtodisputesarising out of the FIDIC form of construction contracts and have acted for both the Contractor and the Employer. I have also acted asanarbitratorinseveralarbitrationproceedingsundertheArbitrationAct,1940.Moreover,IalsoservedastheChairman, Dispute Board (DB), in several construction projects between National Highway Authority (NHA) and itscontractors.

3.         CORPORATE / COMPANY LAW:

▪             Corporate Compliance: Set up and managed the legal department of Huawei Technologies (Pakistan office). Handled all company legal matters in Pakistan & Afghanistan. Advised on corporate compliance issues in accordance with applicable local laws. Presently, I am advising a number of statutory corporations, private limited companies and non-governmental entitiesontheapplicabilityoflocallawsandcompliancethereof.Ihavealsoprovidedlegalservicestoforeigncompaniesin incorporating local subsidiaries and have been handling their local complianceissues.

▪             CorporateRestructuring:Ihaveadvisedaforeigngroupofshareholdersofalocalinternetserviceprovideronthecorporate restructuringofthecompanyandacquisitionoftheminoritysharesbythemajorityshareholders.IalsoadvisedaUS-based IT company in the acquisition of a private limited company inPakistan.

▪             Contracts: Drafted / reviewed Share Purchase Agreements, JV Agreements, Shareholder Agreements and Licensing Agreements for variousclients.

▪             Due Diligence: As counsel for the buyers in various acquisitions, I have been carrying out due diligence on various local companies in Pakistan and preparing reports on compliance issues. This included, for example, reviewing the company’s charter documents, corporate records and filings (including the original file at the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan), reviewing the assets & liabilities of the company, contracts/agreements signed by the company, a review of its employment agreements, IPR issues, pending litigation, outstanding claims and compliance with licenses / governmental permits.

▪             Legal Opinions / Advice: I have prepared legal opinions on issues pertaining to international trade, corporate compliance, sale of goods and breach of contracts. I have also advised various governmental bodies (such as the National Highway Authority (NHA), Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), National Radio & Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) and National ICT R&D Fund) on a range of legal issues, e.g. the interpretation of statutes, rules and regulations and the interpretation / applicability of the same to such organizations. Moreover, I have rendered legal opinions to international companies / organizations on various modes of doing business in Pakistan, including acquisitions of local companies by foreign-ownedentities.

4.         CIVIL LITIGATION:

▪             Represented a number of governmental bodies, corporations and companies in litigation before the Supreme Court, High CourtsandtheDistrictCourtsofPakistan.IsuccessfullydefendedtheCompetitionCommissionofPakistan(CCP)beforethe Islamabad High Court in writ petitions filed by various cement companies in Pakistan seeking to challenge the vires of the Competition Ordinance, 2007. Successfully defended the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), the sole regulator of the telecom industry in Pakistan, in various petitions filed by its licensees challenging the vires of the Access PromotionRules, 2004 and their liability to pay the Access Promotion Contributions amounting to billions of rupees. I have also been representing clients before various tribunals, appellate bodies and special courts in matters pertaining to general civil law, including, but not limited to, breach of contract, labour/employment/service, property, telecommunication, corporate, family and IPRlaws.

5.         MISCELLANEOUS:

▪             Media: Advised Sky News Arabia on the legal issues involved in setting up of a news bureau in Pakistan. Provided legal opinions on various local licensing requirements, including a license for acquiring channel landing & distribution rights in Pakistan. Provided legal services to several media houses / studios and drafted a variety of service contracts forthem.

▪             General Company Law Advice: Advising on a wide range of issues including directors’ liabilities and responsibilities, insolvency, winding up orders, shareholder rights and corporaterestructuring.

▪             Intellectual Property Rights: Advised on copyright & trademark registration, protection and enforcement in Pakistan. Provided legal services to various companies for registration of their logos/trademarks and in infringement proceedings before the IPTribunal.

▪             Labour/Employment: Advised on labour law issues, drafting of expatriate and local employment and consulting contracts, termination notices and preparation of Service / Employment Rules of various companies. Represented a number of employees of various organizations in litigation before the High Courts seeking relief such as reinstatement in service, regularization, promotionetc.

▪             Orders and Show Cause Notices: Preparing responses to show cause notices issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan to various companies on matters pertaining to violation of the provisions of the Companies Ordinance,1984.

IholdapracticinglicenseissuedbythePakistanBarCounciltopracticeasanAdvocateoftheSupremeCourtofPakistanandam a memberof:

·         The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn,London.

·         The Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan (votermember).

·         The Islamabad High Court Bar Association (votermember).

2010-2012               The National Police Academy, Islamabad: Visiting Lecturer for the Law ofEvidence.

2003-2009               University College of Islamabad, Islamabad: Visiting Lecturer for the Law of Torts & IslamicLaw.

·         Awardedthe“best-inhouselegalcounselintheAsiaPacificRegion”bythePresident&CEOofHuaweiTechnologiesCo.Ltd., in2006.

·         RepresentedHuaweiPakistaninlegaltrainingsat(i)HuaweiUniversity,Shenzhen,ChinainJan2006;(ii)Cairo,EgyptinMar 2007; (iii) Dubai, UAE in April 2008 and2009.

·         Attendedacourseon“NegotiationSkills”attheLahoreUniversityofManagementSciences(LUMS)in2006.

·         Took part in various advocacy training workshops held in Lincoln’s Inn, London, as well as those organized by the British Council Islamabad in collaboration with the General Council of the Bar,UK.

·         Elected member of the Court of Governors and appointed Director of the London School of Economics (LSE) in November 1998.

·         Set up the Asian Dramatics Society at LSE. I wrote a multi-lingual theatrical comedy play held at the LSE and was awarded the best actor award for playing a supporting role in theplay.

·         Awarded title of “Honorary Student” of the LSE Students Union in1999.

·         PlayedasamemberoftheLSECricketteamandtheLSETableTennisteamfrom1997to1999.

·         Certified by MENSA, U.K. as having an IQ of140.

·         Fluent in: English, Urdu and Pashto. Working knowledge ofPunjabi.

·         Thorough knowledge of Macs / PCs, MS Office and various other applications. Good working knowledge of online legal sourcese.g.LexisNexis,Butterworthsdirect,Lawtel&Westlaw,Pakistanlawsiteetc.Ihaveatypingspeedof90w.p.m.