LAHORE: Advocate General of Punjab (AGP) Ahmad Awais on Monday tendered his resignation after the president of Pakistan approved the appointment of Balighur Rehman as new governor of Punjab.

Sources in the government said the name of senior lawyer Shahzad Shaukat had been finalised for the new principal law officer of the government.

Mr Awais had refused to quit the office and also approached the Lahore High Court against the provincial government for stopping him from working.

The AGP had taken a plea that the office of advocate general was a constitutional post and he was supposed to hold office during the pleasure of the governor.

The law department had restrained Mr Awais from appearing before the courts on behalf of the government.

Mr Awais was appointed as AGP for a second time on July 29, 2020.

Earlier, he had resigned after contempt proceedings were initiated against him by a full bench of the Lahore High Court in 2019. He was served with a contempt notice for making a scene in the courtroom and trying to pressurise the bench at the time of announcement of a verdict against second JIT on the Model Town incident.

Mr Awais preferred resignation to an apology and accused the members of the bench of committing misconduct. The three-judge bench had discharged the contempt proceedings showing judicial restraint.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2022