LAHORE: The Punjab government on Monday appointed Barrister Zafarullah Khan, Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan, as the new Advocate General (AG) for Punjab, marking a key legal appointment for the country’s most populous province.
According to a notification issued by the Law & Parliamentary Affairs Department, Government of the Punjab, the Governor of Punjab approved the appointment with immediate effect, in public interest.
It is pertinent to mention that recently office of the Advocate General fallen vacant after the then AG, Amjad Pervaiz, was nominated for elevation as an additional judge of the Lahore High Court by the Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP).
Pervaiz is the second AG to be elevated to the high court in recent times; the office had previously fallen vacant when Justice Khalid Ishaq, who had also served as AG, was appointed a high court judge in March 2025.
Background and Legal Standing
Barrister Khan has built a career spanning public service, human rights advocacy, and constitutional litigation. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bahauddin Zakariya University, an MSc in International Relations from Quaid-i-Azam University, and a Bachelor of Law (LLB) from City, University of London. He was called to the Bar by the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn in London in 1998, and subsequently qualified as a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Before transitioning into legal practice in 2002, Khan served for 15 years in Pakistan’s civil service as a Pakistan Administrative Service officer, holding posts including Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, and Additional Secretary in the provinces of Punjab and Sindh. He went on to serve in senior federal government roles, including as Federal Secretary for Law and Justice (2013-2014), and later as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Law, Human Rights, Economic Affairs, and Parliamentary Affairs between 2014 and 2018.
His legal career has also included representation of high-profile political figures, including former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and multiple engagements on behalf of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) in various proceedings. He has additionally worked extensively on human rights law, having represented Pakistan before United Nations bodies including the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee Against Torture, and has authored several publications on law, human rights, and constitutional affairs.
Significance of the Appointment
As Advocate General for Punjab, Barrister Khan will serve as the province’s chief legal officer, representing the Government of Punjab in litigation before the Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and advising the provincial government on constitutional and legal matters. The position carries particular weight given Punjab’s status as Pakistan’s largest province by population, and the volume of litigation the provincial government routinely faces across civil, criminal, and constitutional forums.
The appointment comes at a time when Pakistan’s judicial landscape is undergoing structural change, following the establishment of the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) under the 27th Constitutional Amendment, which has reshaped the appellate jurisdiction of superior courts across the country – developments that are likely to place additional demands on provincial law officers such as the Advocate General.
This news is based on an official notification issued by the Punjab Law & Parliamentary Affairs Department and publicly available biographical information.
