The Attorney General of Pakistan serves as the Government’s principal legal adviser, having rights of audience before the Supreme Court and other privileges.
President Arif Alvi on Monday appointed Mansoor Usman Awan as the new Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP). Awan will replace Barrister Shehzad Ata Elahi who resigned last week.
Qualification
The Attorney General of Pakistan serves as the primary legal advisor to its government. As such, he advises on legislative projects and any other legal duties assigned by President. Furthermore, he represents it before all courts when suits, appeals or proceedings arise against government entities; has audience rights at every court hearing nationwide and enjoys all privileges as an MP without voting privileges. he AG is assisted by Additional and Deputy Attorneys General.
The President of Pakistan appoints the Attorney General with advice from Prime Minister. To become Attorney General, an individual must fulfill certain qualifications:
He or she must be a citizen of Pakistan and eligible to serve on the Supreme Court bench, with at least 15 years experience as an advocate in High Court cases and membership in Senate. Finally, an ideal Attorney General would possess high moral principles and be respected.
AGPs should possess an in-depth knowledge of a wide variety of laws, such as international, civil rights and criminal. Furthermore, they must understand government policies and objectives while being capable of communicating effectively with members of parliament, media outlets and the general public.
Furthermore, an Attorney General must possess outstanding administrative and organizational abilities. Furthermore, they should be capable of overseeing large staffs and budgets efficiently. In addition, an ideal Attorney General would possess strong work ethics as well as team player traits.
Pakistan’s Attorney General must possess swift decision-making abilities and in-depth legal knowledge. Furthermore, they should possess the capability of handling complex cases while negotiating with foreign governments. Finally, the Attorney General is accountable for representing Pakistan at Supreme Court hearings as well as allocating Federal Government cases between various Law Officers present there.
Appointment
The Attorney General of Pakistan serves as Chief Legal Advisor and holds office at the pleasure of the President, appointed under Article 100 of Pakistan’s Constitution on advice from Prime Minister. They can appear before all courts and tribunals throughout Pakistan with right of audience and have legal advice available upon referral from President. Furthermore, they represent government interests before Supreme Court on Civil, Original and Appellate matters.
Shehzad Ata Elahi, a young Lahorie lawyer has been appointed the new attorney general of Pakistan following Barrister Ashtar Ausaf Ali’s resignation last month. Elahi, grandson of former President Fazal Elahi Chaudhry and widely recognized for his hard work, integrity and legal acumen is employed at Cornelius Lane Mufti where he possesses vast expertise in commercial tax banking laws along with corporate, civil and constitutional litigation cases.
Ashtar Ausaf resigned due to health reasons in October and has not been replaced in that role yet. The Supreme Court expressed their discontent at how long it was taking for someone to fill this post, ordering that this occur immediately.
As a legal professional by trade, the Attorney General serves as the principal advocate for their State. Their position requires extensive expertise across multiple fields of law in order to provide advice regarding different aspects of it while assuring all government actions are in line with constitutionality and the rule of law.
Attorney General of Pakistan may accept private briefs after taking office, though doing so would be unethical and create conflicts of interests. They cannot practice privately until all pending cases before the Supreme Court or higher courts have been dealt with and all appeals have been decided upon by that time. Furthermore, an AG cannot represent political parties or individual clients while serving their term in office.
Responsibilities
The Attorney General of Pakistan serves as Chief Legal Advisor to the Government, providing advice to it on any matter related to law or performing other duties assigned by President. As Chief Legal Advisor he provides advice and performs duties referred or assigned by him on legal matters that come under his purview, including audience in all courts in Pakistan as well as hearings of parliament where he participates without voting rights but can actively take part. Assisted by Law Officers such as Deputy Attorneys-General and Standing Counsels his office falls under administrative control of Ministry of Law Justice and Human Rights.
Since October last year, when former Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Chaudhry tendered his resignation, the Office of the Attorney General has been vacant. Now President Arif Alvi has approved Mansoor Usman Awan as his replacement, holding both an LLM degree from Harvard University in the US as well as an LLB from Punjab University where he earned first place.
As Attorney General of Pakistan, he is accountable for legal matters concerning the Government and other governmental departments. Additionally, he must represent it internationally when representing treaty negotiations or international legal issues; his duties also encompass representing it when appealing or constitutional disputes arise; maintaining close working relations between judiciary and law enforcement agencies is another part of his remit.
The Attorney-General serves the Federal Government by providing legal advice and performing other duties of legal nature as assigned or requested by President. As per President’s requests or assignments, Attorney-General must appear as the representative of Federal Government in all matters before Supreme Court and other superior courts across India, appearing for them at all hearings before them as well as enjoying benefits similar to a Judge of Supreme Court on tour such as chauffeur driven car maintained at Government expense and traveling and other allowances accordance with scale admissible for Judge of Supreme Court on tour allowances admissible under its scale admissible for Supreme Court Judges on tour.
Resignation
Barrister Shehzad Ata Elahi resigned after less than two months as Attorney General of Pakistan due to personal reasons, being appointed by the Ministry of Law and Justice after Mansoor Usman Awan recused himself from taking charge as the top lawyer of Pakistan.
Under Article 100 of Pakistan’s Constitution, the Attorney General plays an essential constitutional role. Acting on behalf of government in legal proceedings before courts across Pakistan, they offer advice to government on constitutional and other legal matters as well as ensure government actions and legislation adhere to constitutionalism while upholding rule of law. Having right of audience in all Pakistan courts means they may appear for both civil and criminal cases on behalf of state.
Barrister Shehzad Ata Elahi is a young corporate lawyer specializing in commercial, tax and banking law. With an excellent track record for hard work and integrity, he belongs to Cornelius Lane and Mufti law firm; furthermore he is grandon of former President Fazal Elahi Chaudhry who had extensive legal background experience himself.
He served in the 1971 war against India as a prisoner-of-war before returning to practicing law. Additionally, he is distinguished academically with several honorary doctorates and awards under his belt.
Geo News reported that AGP Mehdi Baig submitted his resignation following an uproar caused by controversial statements he made against members of the Supreme Court bench hearing a case related to Justice Qazi Faez Isa’s removal. Lawyers associations and bar councils protested these remarks by the AGP.
Subsequently, the government submitted a response to the Supreme Court distancing itself from this statement by emphasizing their respect and admiration of superior judiciary bodies.
