Attorney General for Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Wednesday submitted his resignation to President Mamnoon Hussain in wake of upcoming general election 2018. The sources in the AGP Office shared with Business Recorder that Ashtar Ausaf had resigned from his post on June 1. However, the interim government had requested him to stay for a while.
The resignation said; "I believe that in the wake of imminent general election, it would only be correct for me to tender my resignation from constitutional office, lest it be perceived by any party that my continued presence will impede the process of free and fair election."
"The democratic transition, and its preservation, is a cornerstone of our Constitution and democracy," it added. The AGP requested the President to graciously accept his resignation with immediate effect.
Ashtar Ausaf became 32nd Attorney-General for Pakistan on March 29, 2016. He had previously served as special assistant to the prime minister on law, justice and human rights with the status of minister of state since February 2015. He served as the advocate general of Punjab twice from 1998 to 1999 and 2012 to 2013. He has also served as prosecutor general of the province from October 2011 to January 2012 and as advisor to the prime minister on human rights in 1999.
Ashtar Ausaf completed his BA from Forman Christian College in 1975, and his LLB from Punjab University in 1980, where he also taught as adjunct lecturer for international law from 1984 to 1988. He became a member of the Lahore Bar Association in 1980, and was awarded an MCL from George Washington University. He was later enrolled as an advocate of the high court and in 1995 was admitted to the Supreme Court Bar. He is both a member of Phi Delta Phi International Legal Fraternity and American Arbitration Association.
Meanwhile, the Punjab interim government on Wednesday de-notified Asma Hamid as the advocate general of the province. Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) condemned the arbitrary removal of Asma Hamid from the post of advocate general Punjab by the interim government, without any reason or lawful justification.
Asma Hamid being the first female appointee to the said post had distinguished herself as a professional and capable law officer. Her removal in this arbitrary manner from a constitutional post that has no direct nexus with the political/electoral process is an abuse of discretion and a blatant violation of due process which is strongly condemned by the Lahore High Court Bar Association, Lahore, said the LHCBA in a statement.