Mehmood Pracha Elected SAMLA President
BeyondHeadlines News Desk
New Delhi: South Asian Minorities Lawyers Association (SAMLA) has elected prominent lawyer and social activist Mr. Mehmood Pracha its President for five years term in its General Assembly meeting held on Saturday.
Formed in 2008, SAMLA is an association of lawyers committed to promotion of rights of minorities in South Asia. SAMLA believes that protection of minorities’ rights is necessary to attain peace and prosperity in the region.
Giving details of the meeting Mr. Feroz Khan Ghazi, Advocate, Secretary General of SAMLA said that Mr. Mehmood Pracha shall constitute his team of governing body to carry the work forward.
Mr. Ghazi said that SAMLA works on the understanding that presence of one community as majority in one country and as a minority in another provide immense opportunities for further strengthening of bonds between their governments and their peoples.
Some of the other prominent members who attended the meeting include Mr. Nasir Aziz, S. Mansoor Ali, Farrukh Khan and Salar M. Khan.
After his election as the President, Mr. Mehmood Pracha, Advocate said that he would strive to protect human rights of minorities and other weaker sections and to promote the message of SAMLA throughout the South Asian Region.
He further said the countries in the South Asian region are intimately connected with each other. They not only share geography but also history, culture and religions.
Mr. Pracha said, “We should use the shared values for promotion of justice, peace, prosperity in the region”.
Mr. Mehmood Pracha is a grandson of a legendary freedom fighter Late Mr. Abdul Haq Pracha, who was a close confidant of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. His grandfather was the President of City District Congress Committee at the crucial time of partition of the country i.e. 1946-48.
Mr. Mehmood Pracha is one of the pioneers of a specialized field of ‘Outer Space Law’ in India. He is associated with the International Institute of Space Law, the ‘European Centre of Space Law’ (ECSL), operating under the auspices of European Space Agency (ESA), an European Union (EU) body as their member since 2003 and 2005 respectively. He has contributed highly acclaimed research papers on Space law, both nationally and internationally.
He has been providing invaluable legal advice to Delhi Safai Karamchari Commission and National Commission for Women. Since 1992, he is promiting legal awareness among general public as the President of an all India voluntary organization called ‘Organization for Promotion of Legal Awareness’ (OPLA). His service in the field of legal aid has been recognized internationally and has been invited to various international conferences on legal aid to poor.
A Release by South Asian Minorities Lawyers Association
