Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday wrote to nominated caretaker prime minister Nasirul Mulk, asking him to declare Ali Jahangir Siddiqui's appointment as Pakistan's Ambassador to the US null and void.

The letter, penned by PTI's spokesperson Fawad Chaudhary, said that Siddiqui is "facing NAB cases" and to make him an ambassador is equivalent to the "murder of national interest."

A combined investigation team of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lahore had on April 18 interrogated Siddiqui for over an hour in an alleged embezzlement case.

Earlier this month, NAB's Karachi chapter had also appealed to the Sindh High Court to place Siddiqui's name on the Exit Control List due to an ongoing investigation in multiple corruption cases against him.

However, Siddiqui's lawyer had argued that NAB was not authorised to hold an inquiry into the allegations since it was the domain of the Securities and Exchange Commission Pakistan.

Chaudhary today demanded that Siddiqui's appointment be declared void and that a "competent and seasoned" person be chosen to replace him.

Chaudhary also alleged in the letter that Siddiqui's appointment came as a result of his family's "close relations" with Prime Minister Shahid Khawan Abbasi.

Siddiqui's appointment has been a cause of much controversy at home as opposition parties accuse Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi of appointing his "business partner's son" as the top envoy to the US.

Siddiqui had earlier served Prime Minister Abbasi as a special assistant, advising the prime minister on economic and business matters.

He is the chairman of JS Bank Ltd and son of stockbroker-turned-banker Jahangir Siddiqui.

Ali Siddiqui has also been a director in Airblue — which is also connected to the prime minister's family — Lucky Cement, Azgard Nine, and numerous other companies.

His appointment as ambassador has been challenged in various courts in Pakistan while opposition parliamentarians in both the National Assembly and the Senate have also rejected it.

Reports in the media claimed that the army chief also opposed the appointment in a recent, informal conversation with senior journalists.

Last month, the Islamabad High Court summoned a reply from Siddiqui over a case challenging his appointment as ambassador to the US.

Asma Hamid's appointment as Advocate General Punjab challenged in LHC

The Lahore High Court on Tuesday also received a petition demanding that Asma Hamid's appointment as the advocate general of Punjab be nullified.

The petition, submitted by Barrister Javed Iqbal Jaffri, argues that Hamid's appointment was not based on merit and she had been promoted out of turn shortly before the dissolution of the Punjab Assembly.

According to the petition, Hamid's appointment is based on political affiliations and thus it should be declared void.