Aushtar Ausaf new AGP as Salman Butt resigns

ISLAMABAD: The Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Salman Aslam Butt on Monday resigned and the government appointed Aushtar Ausaf in his place.

Butt, who was expected to resign earlier, on Monday relinquished the office of AGP, and formally tendered his resignation before Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif.

According to sources in the Ministry of Law and Justice, the prime minister has accepted the resignation of Butt and Aushtar Ausaf, who was the Special Assistant to Prime Minister for Law and Justice, was appointed as the next AGP.

Under Article 100 of the Constitution, the attorney general is appointed and legally he cannot engage himself in any private practice so long as he holds the office.According to a PM House statement, the prime minister also gave the additional charge of Ministry of Law to Minister for Climate Change Zahid Hamid.

Meanwhile, former Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt was repeatedly contacted on Viber as mobile service remained suspended on Monday but he could not attend the call despite the fact that he was online.

Butt recently, during the course of Musharaf’s ECL matter in the Supreme Court, remained stuck to the point that the government has “only put Musharraf’s name on the ECL as it was ordered by the apex court”. However, the order referred by the AG was an interim order.

The court told the AG that the said order was only an interim order, and has no force now and that the government should take a stance for putting Musharraf on the ECL and inform the court about the pending cases and allegations against him along with evidences. Butt insisted he will rely merely on the ‘2013 interim order of the Supreme Court’.

It is pertinent to mention here that Ashtar Ausaf remained the Advocate General and Prosecutor General Punjab. He introduced institutional reforms, set up training workshops and put together the Standard Operational Procedures and a regime of interactive programmes for efficient working of the two very important offices in the province of Punjab.