ISLAMABAD: Ashtar Ausaf Ali, the Attorney-General for Pakistan (AGP), has left his position, sources told Geo News on Wednesday.
The AGP has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to officials who spoke to Geo News under the condition of anonymity; nevertheless, he has been asked to keep working until a replacement is named.
According to the sources, AGP Ali’s resignation was motivated by his health.
JCP meeting is scheduled for today
It’s interesting that the AGP’s resignation was announced just before the Pakistani Judicial Commission, of which he is a member, was to meet to discuss the selection of judges.
After a five-month break, the JCP is convening and is anticipated to discuss the permanent appointment of 13 Lahore High Court justices.
Recent JCP meeting was marred by controversy
The debate surrounding the previous JCP conference was centered on AGP Ali.
The panel reportedly rejected CJP Bandial’s nominees for judges of higher courts to be elevated to the SC at the most recent JCP meeting, which was held in July of last year, according to sources.
The session of the judicial commission, which involved the consideration of five judges—two from the Sindh High Court and three from the Lahore High Court (LHC)—was presided over by CJP Bandial.
The Hon’ble Chief Justice of Pakistan will be able to add more names to the list of proposees for consideration by the JCP and, if he deems it appropriate, add additional information and data about those who have already been proposed, according to the official statement released by the Supreme Court.
The Attorney General of Pakistan, Mr. Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, Mr. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, Mr. Justice (Retd) Sarmad Jalal Osmany, and others backed the move to postpone the meeting. It was consequently decided to postpone the meeting. The Chairman, JCP, must notify the Members of the Judicial Commission of the date of the next meeting,” the announcement had stated.
Two JCP members, Justice Isa and Justice Sardar Tariq Masood, said that the statement did not accurately reflect the events of the JCP meeting after the statement became public.
In response to criticism, the supreme court posted the JCP meeting’s audio on its internet.
According to a statement released by the supreme court, “In these exceptional circumstances, the Hon’ble Chairman JCP has been pleased to relax the restriction under Rule 5(4) of the JCP Rules, 2010 and has directed that the audio recording of the JCP proceedings from July 28, 2022 be made available on the official website of the SCP.”
The Attorney-General of Pakistan, Ashtar Ausaf Ali, gave a remark that, according to the Supreme Court’s announcement, “audio recording from time slot 1:29:45 to 1:38:08 comprises the statement.” This comment, according to the PRO, was what caused the meeting to be postponed.
AGP “did not review or reject the merits of any of the High Court justices submitted for nomination to the SCP,” according to the statement.
According to the press note from July 28, 2022, “as a result, 5 members of the JCP approved the deferral of the meeting,” according to the SCP.
Comments are closed.