Ashtar Ausaf Ali

Ashtar Ausaf Ali (born 19 June 1956) is a Pakistani lawyer who twice served as the Attorney General for Pakistan from 2016 to 2018, and from 2022 to 2023. In his first term, he co-drafted the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, which merged the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Ashtar Ausaf Ali
اشتر اوصاف علی
29th and 32nd Attorney-General for Pakistan
In office
9 May 2022 – 19 January 2023
PresidentArif Alvi
Prime MinisterShehbaz Sharif
Preceded byKhalid Jawed Khan
Succeeded byShehzad Ata Elahi
In office
29 March 2016 – 21 June 2018
PresidentMamnoon Hussain
Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
Nasir-ul-Mulk
Preceded bySalman Aslam Butt
Succeeded byKhalid Jawed Khan
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister
on Law and Justice
In office
25 February 2015 – 28 March 2016
Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif
Succeeded byZafarullah Khan
29th and 35th Advocate General of Punjab
In office
2 January 2012 – 5 April 2013
GovernorLatif Khosa
Preceded byKhawaja Haris
Succeeded byShahid Karim
In office
20 November 1998 – 12 October 1999
GovernorShahid Hamid
Preceded byKhawaja Muhammad Sharif
Succeeded byMaqbool Elahi Malik
3rd Prosecutor General of Punjab
In office
15 September 2011 – 2 January 2012
GovernorLatif Khosa
Preceded bySyed Zahid Hussain
Succeeded bySadaqat Ali Khan
Personal details
Born (1956-06-19) 19 June 1956
Lahore, Pakistan
ChildrenFatima Ali
Alma materForman Christian College
Punjab University
George Washington University
OccupationLawyer
AwardsSitara-e-Imtiaz

Ausaf previously served as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Law and Justice from 2015 to 2016, twice as Advocate General of Punjab from 1998 to 1999 and 2012 to 2013, and as Prosecutor General of the province from 2011 to 2012.[1]

His daughter was the chef Fatima Ali, who died of cancer in 2019, at the age of 29.[2][3]

Early life and education

Ausaf was born in Lahore, Pakistan, the eldest son of lawyer and diplomat Iftikhar Ali Sheikh. He completed his Bachelor of Arts from Forman Christian College in 1975, and his LLB from Punjab University in 1980, where he also taught as adjunct lecturer for international law from 1984 to 1988. He became a member of the Lahore Bar Association in 1980, and was awarded an MCL from George Washington University, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity.

Ausaf came to prominence in the 1990s as a litigator and constitutional lawyer. After President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1993, he successfully represented Sharif before the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the dissolution of parliament. The Supreme Court overturned the dismissal, and Sharif was re-elected in 1997. Ausaf was then appointed Advisor to the Prime Minister on human rights. He was appointed Advocate General of Punjab in May 1998, but resigned from his post when General Pervez Musharraf overthrew the Sharif government in a military coup.

Detention during emergency rule

Ausaf supported the Lawyers' Movement for the restoration of an independent judiciary. After Musharraf declared a state of emergency in 2007, Ausaf was detained by the military regime from the Lahore office of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan on 5 November 2007. He suffered a heart attack in custody and was hospitalised.[4]

Advocate General Punjab
Lahore High Court

Following general elections in 2008, General Musharraf resigned as President. The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) formed the provincial government in Punjab, and Ausaf was appointed Prosecutor General of the province in 2011, before again being appointed Advocate General on 2 January 2012, having first served at the post 14 years ago. He stepped down when the caretaker government took over for the 2013 elections, and resumed private practice at his law firm, Ashtar Ali & Co.[5]

Escape from gun attack

On 29 June 2013, Ausaf's convoy came across two armed dacoits robbing a woman in Garden Town, Lahore. Ausaf ordered his guards to intervene, upon which the dacoits opened fire on Ausaf's car. Ausaf was unharmed. After fleeing the scene, the dacoits were arrested from Band Road.[6]

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister

Following Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)'s victory in the general elections in 2013, Ausaf was appointed to Prime Minister Sharif's cabinet as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Law, with the status of Minister of State, on 25 February 2015, and handed charge of the Ministry of Law and Justice.

Attorney-General for Pakistan

First tenure (2016–2018)
Supreme Court of Pakistan

Ausaf was appointed the 29th Attorney-General for Pakistan in a cabinet reshuffle on 29 March 2016, following the resignation of Salman Aslam Butt, with

Ahmed Malik Minister for Law and Justice in Ausaf's place.[7] As Attorney-General, he co-drafted the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, which merged the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

He resigned on 20 June 2018 stating the need to ensure free and fair elections, and a smooth democratic transition.[8]

Second tenure (2022–2023)

Ausaf returned as AG on 9 May 2022, when President Arif Alvi approved his appointment on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.[9] Ausaf tendered his resignation in October, citing severe health issues,[10] and recovering from surgery.[11] Sharif directed him to continue in office[12] until the government named his replacement. His resignation was formally accepted on 19 January 2023, after the designated Attorney General, Mansoor Usman Awan, recused himself from the post.[13]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ashtar Ausaf Ali.

References
  1. "LHC restrains Punjab government from removing law officers". dailytimes.com. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  2. Mays, Jeffrey C. (27 January 2019). "Fatima Ali Obituary". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  3. Jalil, Xari (2 February 2019). "Chef Fatima Ali laid to rest by family and friends in Lahore". Images. Dawn.
  4. HRCP: Police attack at HRCP Head Office, 55 human rights activists arrested
  5. "Ashtar Ausaf Ali". ashtarali.com. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  6. Former AG Punjab Ashtar Ausaf escapes attack
  7. Iqbal, Nasir (29 March 2016). "Ashtar Ausaf appointed attorney general". Dawn. Dawn Group. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  8. Iqbal, Nasir (21 June 2018). "AG Ashtar Ausaf quits to help ensure fair elections". Dawn. Dawn Group. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
  9. "President Alvi approves Ashtar Ausaf's appointment as attorney general". Dawn. 9 May 2022.
  10. "AGP Ashtar Ausaf Ali resigns citing health issues: sources". The News International. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  11. "AGP leaves for US for medical treatment". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  12. "Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf resigns on 'health grounds'". Daily Times. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  13. Malik, Hasnaat. "Mansoor Awan recuses from AGP appointment". The Express Tribune. Express Group. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
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