Ashtar Ausaf Ali

Ashtar Ausaf Ali (born 19 June 1956) is a Pakistani lawyer who served as the 32nd Attorney-General for Pakistan from 2016 to 2018. As AG, 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
32nd Attorney-General for Pakistan
In office
29 March 2016  21 June 2018
PresidentMamnoon Hussain
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
Lahore High Court

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

Ali 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. His father was senior Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan and remained Ambassidor of Pakistan.

Ali 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

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

The Supreme Court Building where office of Attorney General for Pakistan is situated

Ausaf was appointed the 32nd Attorney-General for Pakistan in a cabinet reshuffle on 29 March 2016, following the resignation of Salman Aslam Butt, with Zahid Hamid reappointed 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]


References

  1. "LHC restrains Punjab government from removing law officers". dailytimes.com. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  2. Mays, Jeffrey C. "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.
Legal offices
Preceded by
Khawaja Muhammad Sharif
Advocate General Punjab
1998–1999
Succeeded by
Maqbool Elahi Malik
Preceded by
Syed Zahid Hussain
Prosecutor General Punjab
2011–2012
Succeeded by
Sadaqat Ali Khan
Preceded by
Khawaja Haris
Advocate General Punjab
2012–2013
Succeeded by
Shahid Karim
Preceded by
Salman Aslam Butt
Attorney-General for Pakistan
2016–2018
Succeeded by
Khalid Jawed Khan
Political offices
New office Special Assistant to the Prime Minister
on Law and Justice

2015–2016
Succeeded by
Zafarullah Khan
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