PM goes into legal confab after AGP ‘calls it quits’

ISLAMABAD / LAHORE: After Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Barrister Shehzad Ata Elahi quit the top law office on Friday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif went into a huddle with legal experts to discuss their strategy on the delayed elections in Punjab, when the matter is taken up by the PTI before the Supreme Court.

Though there was no official information of his resignation, a source privy to the development confirmed that Mr Elahi, the 37th AGP, had left the coveted post.

The meeting, presided over by Prime Minister Sharif at Model Town, discussed the looming legal battle, but while federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and PM’s special assistants Attaullah Tarar and Malik Ahmad Khan took part in the deliberations, Mr Elahi was conspicuous by his absence.

Despite repeated attempts, Barrister Elahi could not be contacted to confirm or deny reports regarding his resignation.

Sources claimed that the reason behind his sudden resignation was that the government did not have a “comfortable correlation” with the AGP and considered him someone who had been enforced upon them.

According to sources, the March 22 notification of ECP postponing the Punjab Assembly polls made the highest office the most uncomfortable seat since Mr Elahi as AGP had to defend executive’s decisions before the judiciary.

“The PM’s huddle fully supported the ECP’s decision and resolved to hold the general elections of all assemblies simultaneously,” a PML-N source told Dawn.

The meeting discussed the government’s strategy to defend the ECP’s decision and its inability to hold the polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the current circumstances.

“The strongest argument that the government believes it has is that holding general elections separately may cause a lot of problems for all concerned and would lead to another crisis. The apex court may be requested to give a solution by taking all stakeholders on board,” the source said.

The PTI has already announced approaching the Supreme Court against the “illegal decision” that the ECP has made at the behest of the government and the powers that be.

Elahi’s path to AGP office

After the resignation of then AGP Ashtar Ausaf Ali in October and the “disinterest” shown by Mansoor Usman Awan, Mr Elahi was appointed as the country’s top law officer on Feb 2.

Barrister Elahi, grandson of former president Fazal Illahi Chaudhry, enjoyed good reputation for his hard work, integrity and understanding of legal issues. He belongs to the famous law firm Cornelius Lane and Mufti of which renowned lawyer Hamid Khan and Salman Aslam Butt were partners.

Earlier, the government had picked Mr Awan, also from Lahore, but he expressed his inability to accept the job in a letter to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on Jan 19 due to the government’s failure to issue the notification despite his nomination being approved by President Dr Arif Alvi on Dec 23.

It is believed that Prime Minister Sharif has called a meeting to consider a replacement of Mr Elahi and name of Mr Awan has started doing the rounds again.

Soon after his appointment, AGP Elahi created quite a stir when he on Feb 13 wrote to Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, denying if Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial had made adverse remarks about the honesty of the country’s prime ministers during the hearing in the NAB amendment case on Feb 9.

“I (AGP) was personally present in the court during these proceedings and could confirm that no such observation was made,” Mr Elahi stated in a two-page letter to the law minister, which was issued to the media.

The letter came against the backdrop of Senate proceedings when one of the members, Irfanul Haque Siddiqui of PML-N, in his speech on the floor of the house had said that the top judge had no right to declare prime ministers — from Liaquat Ali Khan to Imran Khan — dishonest.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2023