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WEEKLY
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| Aitzaz will be attorney general, hope Presidency, PM House |
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Saturday, November 14, 2009
By Tariq Butt
ISLAMABAD: Despite strong denials and convincing arguments by circles close to Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan that he would not accept any job offered by President Asif Ali Zardari, the Presidency and the PM House are optimistic that he would be the new attorney general.
A federal minister, who is more close to Zardari than Gilani, told The News on condition of anonymity that Aitzaz would accept the invitation in a maximum of 10 days.Quarters close to Zardari are hopeful about Aitzaz Ahsan’s acceptance of the offer. “The president hasn’t yet been formally conveyed any negative response from the lawyer,” one of them said.
Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar refused to comment on the offer made to Aitzaz Ahsan and his reaction received by the Presidency so far.“Basically, it was Gilani’s idea and proposal that Aitzaz Ahsan should be taken on board by having him in an important position like that of the attorney general or the Punjab governor,” the minister said.
The president, he said, agreed to the prime minister’s view and the meeting that Aitzaz Ahsan held with the president was just to seal such a decision so that it appears that it came from the PPP co-chairman.
Despite efforts, Aitzaz Ahsan was not available for comments. However, sources close to him confirmed that he has conclusively decided to say no to the offer to become the attorney general. “Aitzaz Ahsan has very serious reservations that have impeded him to be formally associated with the government,” they said.
One of them went to the extent of saying that Aitzaz Ahsan’s acceptance of the offer would have amounted to a political coup by the president at a time when the most ominous challenge to Zardari and his comrades is likely to come from the judicial front where he doesn’t have a good team to defend them, and additionally a floodgate of cases ‘quashed’ under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) are about to be re-started.
A PPP leader, who knows Aitzaz Ahsan quite well, though appreciated the government’s move to get this talented lawyer in the ruling fold to improve its image and better its defence, insisted that the advocate would not accept the offer.
Notwithstanding the attractions of the offer made, Aitzaz Ahsan knows that being attorney general, he would have to defend the government for everything whether good or bad, including the controversial NRO against which he had already spoken in public so many times.
The source said that Aitzaz Ahsan was also offered the position of Punjab governor but in this case he too is reluctant for the reason that it would deprive him from contesting elections for the National Assembly that remains his passion.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
