Islamabad, (TLTP): Tendering resignation on Thursday, Pakistan’s chief law officer Capt. (retired) Anwar Mansoor Khan said that he is stepping down to respect the demand of Pakistan Bar Council – the apex regulatory body of the lawyers.
However, the government side claimed that it is outcome of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s displeasure over the attorney general’s contemptuous remarks about superior judiciary during adjudication of the presidential reference against one of the sitting judges of the top court, Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
In his resignation to President Dr.Arif Alvi, Capt. (retired) Anwar Mansoor Khan said the Pakistan Bar Council has asked for his resignation. “Being a life member of Karachi Bar Association, Sindh Bar Association and the Supreme Court Bar Association, and having previously served as the Advocate-General Sindh, the Attorney-General for Pakistan and a judge of the High Court of Sindh, I stand with my brothers and colleagues at the Bar and I wish to reaffirm my faith in the highest principles of integrity and professional excellence that the Pakistan Bar Council has always stood for,” the letter read.
Khan added, “I hereby resign from the position of the Attorney-General for Pakistan and request you to accept it with immediate effect. In the last year and a half, I worked to the best of my ability to serve this solemn office with honesty of purpose, and commitment to upholding the constitution.”
However, Law Minister Dr.Farogh Naseem and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar claimed that Khan was asked to resign after his controversial statement in the Supreme Court. The statements from the ministers came after law secretary submitted a response in the top court on behalf of the President, the Prime Minister, law minister and SAPM on accountability regarding the controversial statement from the attorney general.
While tweeting, senior journalist Syed Talat Hussain expressed, “Govt saves its skin, ditches Anwar Mansoor, who resigns as attorney general after making disgraceful remarks about the integrity of a 10-member bench, led by Justice Umar Ata hearing Justice Isa’s petition. People like Anwar Khan should know how expendable they become when they get involved in dirty power games”.
Anwar Mansoor Khan the other day made disgraceful remarks about integrity of a full court ten-member bench, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, during proceedings in the identical petitions, challenging the presidential reference filed against Justice Qazi Faez Isa for allegedly not disclosing his foreign properties in his wealth returns.
However, taking strong exception to the matter in which Anwar Mansoor Khan was delivering arguments, the bench observed that instead of substantiating his arguments in the matter in hand, Mansoor Khan was only wasting the court’s time.
Reprimanding Khan, the bench expressed the attorney general was detailing definitions of misconduct of a judge instead of focusing on facts for establishing his case. The bench issued directives to Anwar Mansoor Khan to produce evidence for substantiating his statement that he made about the bench otherwise he would have to tender written apology on February 24.
