Former law minister and prominent lawyer Khalid Anwer passed away on Thursday in Karachi at the age of 87, his family told Dawn.com.

Born on November 4, 1938, in Delhi, Anwer obtained a BSc (Hons) and LLB degree from the University of the Punjab and later a BA (Hons) degree from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

He began his legal career in 1962 as a high court advocate and legal expert and served as the country’s law minister from 1997 to 1999 during Nawaz Sharif’s government. He also served as a senator for a term of six years.

During his time in office, he made significant changes to Pakistan’s legal system.

“His personality was larger than life”, Anwer’s grandson, Yousuf Khalid Anwer, who is also a lawyer, told Dawn.com.

His daughter, Ayesha Siddiqui, said: “He was exemplary in every way — whether as a son to the father he adored so much, the best husband, the best father, the best uncle, the best grandfather — he was a shining light in the lives of the entire family in every conceivable way.

“We mourn him, we grieve him, and we are so proud to have been blessed to have had the inestimable privilege of calling him Abba,” she said.

Senior lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan, a close friend and confidante of Anwer’s, told Dawn.com, “As a lawyer he always left you feeling as if he had given an unanswerable case.”

Meanwhile, Munawarus Salam, a partner at Lahore-based law firm Cornelius, Lane and Mufti, told Dawn.com that he was extremely sorry to hear the news.

“He was a very kind man, always encouraging youngsters like us,” he said. “It was always a pleasure to assist him and be part of his team.”