Barrister Khalid Jawed Khan would replace Anwar Mansoor as new Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) and in this regard a notification is expected to be issued today (Friday), according to sources.
Anwar Mansoor Khan resigned as Attorney General for Pakistan on February 20, as a day ago the Supreme Court directed him to place material on basis of which he made an 'unwarranted' statement against the members of the bench or tender a written apology.
Barrister Khalid Jawed Khan has already served as attorney general for Pakistan during the interim government headed by former Justice Nasir Mulk. He was appointed attorney general for Pakistan on June 21, 2018 however when PTI came into power it replaced Khalid Jawed with Anwar Masoor on 31st August, 2018.
Khalid Jawed has also served as Advocate General for Sindh. He actively participated in the 2007 lawyers' movement for the restoration of judiciary in the country and wrote many articles against the Provisional Constitution Order of former military dictator Pervez Musharraf.
Barrister Khan's professional career spans over more than two decades. He was enrolled as a high court advocate in 1991 and became an advocate of the Supreme Court in 2004.
He served as a legal adviser to the AGP in 1995-96. His father, Prof ND Khan, is a seasoned politician who had been associated with the Pakistan People's Party for a long time.
Barrister Khalid is an expert in vast areas of law, including constitutional law, income tax, sales tax, customs, land matters, banking law and service laws. He obtained his LLB degree from London University, BCL (bachelor of civil law) degree from Oxford University, LLM from Harvard University and completed his bar-at-law from Lincoln's Inn.
Ali Rizvi
Anwar Mansoor Khan on Thursday resigned as Attorney General for Pakistan after the Supreme Court last Wednesday directed him to provide material on the basis of which he made an "unwarranted statement" against the members of the bench in Justice Qazi Faez Isa case, or tender a written apology.
Makhdoom Ali Khan and Nayyar Bukhari were earlier offered the post, but they have excused themselves, said the sources. They shared with Business Recorder that Capt (retired) Anwar Mansoor Khan was forced to resign due to his statement against the judges which he made on 18th February 2020 during the hearing of Justice Qazi Faez Isa's petition against the presidential reference.
Last Wednesday, after the hearing of Justice Isa's petition, the Law Minister, Farogh Naseem, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability and Chairman Asset Recovery Unit Mirza Shahzad Akbar, and Maleeka Bokhari met with Anwar Mansoor in his office and asked him to resign.
Federal Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem and the federal government distanced themselves from the statement of the former AGP. Secretary Law Muhammad Khashihur Rehman on Thursday filed a statement on behalf of respondents 1 to 4 and 8 and 9 in Justice Isa petition in the Supreme Court.
"The oral statement was unauthorized, without instructions and knowledge of the federal government and the respondents. Anwar Mansoor's statement is totally uncalled for," said the ministry's statement.
Anwar Mansoor in his resignation to President Arif Alvi wrote, "I note with profound regret that the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC), of which I am the chairman, has demanded through its press release dated 19th February, 2020, that I resign forthwith from the office of Attorney-General for Pakistan."
The PBC on Wednesday had deplored the attorney general's statement and demanded his resignation. The PBC Vice-Chairman, Abid Saqi, filed a contempt of court petition against Mansoor Khan and Law Minister Farogh Naseem for maligning the bench in Justice Isa case.
The ex-AGP's resignation states; "Being a life member of Karachi Bar Association, Sindh Bar Association and the Supreme Court Bar Association and having previously served as the Advocate-General Sindh, the Attorney for Pakistan and a judge of the High Court of Sindh, I stand with my brothers and colleagues at the Bar and I wish to reaffirm my faith in the highest principles of integrity and professional excellence that the Pakistan Bar Council has always stood for.
"Accordingly, I hereby resign from the position of the Attorney General for Pakistan and request you to accept it with immediate effect. In the last year and a half, I worked to the best of my ability to serve this solemn office with honesty of purpose, and commitment to upholding the Constitution.
"I wish my successor the very best of success and pray that God may continue to shower His countless blessings on our motherland and nation," the resignation reads.
The ministry's statement reads, "The federal government and the answering respondents hold the superior judiciary in highest respect and esteem. Accordingly, the federal government and the respondents dissociate themselves from the statement of the attorney general made by him on February 18, 2020." The federal government and the answering respondents verily believe in the rule of law, constitutionalism and the independence of judiciary, it adds.