ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday called into question the official status of new Attorney-General of Pakistan (AGP) after his office failed to assist the apex court in a property-related case.
The apex took notice of the appointment of the new AGP and resignation of the former Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) and also sought record of the appointment and resignation till January 17.
The two-member SC bench, headed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa, issued the order over non-cooperation by the deputy attorney general. “We are not getting correct assistance in cases from the attorney general’s office,” Justice Qazi Faez Isa said.
The court summoned the secretary of law on the next hearing and ordered him to bring all the documents related to the new attorney general’s appointment and the former’s resignation.
“Who is the attorney general?” he asked from Deputy Attorney General Shafqat Abbasi. “Ashtar Ausaf is the attorney general,” Shafqat Abbasi told Justice Faez Isa.
“Ashtar Ausaf has resigned. His resignation has been accepted,” Justice Faez Isa replied.
During the hearing, the judge commented that “the office of Mansoor Awan, the new AGP, was not assisting the court in cases for which it seeks a explanation”.
“Who is the new attorney general?” he questioned. The deputy attorney-general said he was unaware of it.
Justice Isa then questioned Additional Attorney General (AAG) Aamir Rehman about the new AGP, who also failed to give an answer.
The court adjourned the hearing till January 17.
New AGP
Mansoor Usman Awan, who is the new AGP, replaced Ashtar Ausaf Ali after the latter resigned from his office. His appointment was approved by President Dr Arif Alvi on December 23, 2022.
The former AGP resigned from his post back in September 2022 due to health reasons, as per the sources.
He submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. However, he had offered to continue working as AGP till a replacement was appointed.
