LAHORE: Senior jurist and former Senator Syed Muhammad Zafar, popularly known as SM Zafar, passed away at the age of 93, his family members in Lahore confirmed on Thursday.

The family revealed that the legal expert had been ailing for a long time.

Also known as one of the most prominent Pakistani human rights activists and noted lawyer, Zafar was the father of Barrister Ali Zafar — a top leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) — and served as the federal minister of Law and Justice from 1965 to 1969.

The veteran jurist was born in Burma on December 6, 1930, and began his career as a lawyer in the 1950s after graduating from University Law College.