Two lawyers challenge Sindh’s Advocate General’s appointment

Bench orders its office to issue pre-admission notices to AG Sindh and other respondents for a date to be fixed later.

KARACHI: Notices were issued to the Advocate General of Sindh Abdul Fatah Malik, the chief secretary and secretary of law for a date to be fixed later, in a constitutional petition filed by two lawyers Ali Safdar Depar and Jaweed A Kalwar here on Monday by a division bench of the High Court of Sindh (SHC) comprising Justice Muhammad Athar Saeed and Justice Irfan Saadat Khan.

The petitioners maintain that Abdul Fatah Malik was appointed the Advocate-General of Sindh (AGS) on December 30, 2010 under Article 140 of the Constitution of Pakistan. The petitioners reproduced the article and maintained that it provides that a lawyer or person who is qualified to be a judge of the SHC can be appointed the Advocate-General. They maintained that Malik does not qualify for the constitutional post as he is over the proper age and thus his appointment is illegal and in violation of the constitutional provisions.

They maintained that provincial government has the foremost responsibility to abide by the provisions of the Constitution in letter and spirit. They pointed out that while personal profiles of all ex-AGs were available on the website of the AG’s office, the profile of this one was conspicuously unavailable.

They prayed the court to show cause as to under what authority he is continuing as the AG Sindh. They prayed the court to declare the notification appointing Malik the AGS as "contrary to the law and dictum set forth by the superior courts from time to time”.

The bench ordered its office to issue pre-admission notices to the AG Sindh and other respondents for a date to be fixed later.