Mumbai lawyer to head South Asian minorities legal panel

Mehmood Pracha, an eminent lawyer and pioneer of outer space law in India, has been elected president of the South Asian Minorities Lawyers Association (SAMLA) for a five-year term.

SAMLA secretary-general Feroz Khan Ghazi said the organisation, comprising lawyers from various South Asian countries, was working for minorities' rights in the region since 2008.

"SAMLA works on the understanding that presence of one community as majority in one country and as minority in another country provides immense opportunities for further strengthening of bonds between their governments and peoples," Ghazi said.

Pracha said that through SAMLA, efforts would be made to protect human rights of minorities and other weaker sections throughout the South Asian region which are intimately connected and share geography, history, culture and religions.

Pracha is the grandson of freedom fighter Abdul Haq Pracha, who was a close associate of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.

A pioneer of outer space law in India, Pracha is associated with the International Institute of Space Law and the European Centre of Space Law, which operates under the European Space Agency and the European Union.

He also served as president of the Organisation for Promotion of Legal Awareness, which promotes awareness of laws among the general public.

He has also penned research papers on international space laws.