ISLAMABAD: Soon after the resignation of Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali, the federal government on Thursday appointed Khalid Jawed Khan from Karachi to fill the coveted post.

“In exercise of powers conferred by Article 100(1) of the Constitution, the president is pleased to appoint Mr Khalid Jawed as Attorney General for Pakistan with the rank and status of a federal minister with immediate effect,” said a notification issued by the law ministry on Thursday.

Khalid Jawed who is the son of N.D. Khan — a senior politician who also served as the law minister during the second government of PPP — told Dawn that he would soon be assuming the prestigious office.

The newly appointed AG will serve during the tenure of the government of caretaker Prime Minister Nasirul Mulk. However, it will be the choice of the elected government to be installed after the July 25 general elections to appoint a new AG of its own liking or keep Mr Jawed to continue.

Mr Jawed is a senior advocate who has appeared before the Supreme Court in a number of cases and also served as Advocate General for Sindh in 2013 as well as a member of the Privatisation Commission of Pakistan from 1995 to 1996.

He also served in the office of the attorney general during the tenure of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

“He is one of our leading lawyers and deserved to be appointed at the highest office,” said senior counsel from Karachi, Faisal Siddiqui, who also served as the consultant to former attorney general Muneer A. Malik.

On Wednesday, Ashtar Ausaf had resigned from the office of the AG by stating that it would be correct to quit the constitutional office in the wake of the upcoming general elections, otherwise it could be perceived by any political party that his continued presence might impede the process of free and fair elections.

The office of the AG is always filled by the president, but the individual nominated to the post must be qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court.

PBC on Fata merger

Meanwhile, senior members of the Pakistan Bar Council — chairman executive committee Shabbir Shar, former vice chairman Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon and Hafeezur Rehman Chaudhry — demanded that the Election Commission of Pakistan and the caretaker government ensure all steps for holding fair and free elections in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) on July 25.

Appreciating the decision of the federal government to merge Fata with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PBC leaders said the government had accepted the long-standing demand of the region’s people.

They also urged the government to ensure giving the right of franchise to the people of Fata in the ensuing general elections by enabling them to choose and elect their representatives to the national and provincial assemblies.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2018