Punjab's first female advocate general removed by interim govt

10 assistant advocates also de-notified in view of ECP notification

ISLAMABAD: The caretaker government of Punjab de-notified Asma Hamid as the advocate general of the province on Wednesday.

According to a letter sent to the authorities concerned, Punjab Governor Mohammad Rafique Rajwana directed that Asma “shall cease to hold that office with immediate effect.”

The interim government has appointed Imtiaz Rasheed Siddiqui as the provincial advocate general.

Asma holds a post-graduate degree in constitutional law from the United States’ prestigious Harvard University. She was appointed as an assistant advocate general in January 2014 and as additional advocate general in March 2015. She assumed responsibilities as acting advocate general on two previous occasions.





The interim government also de-notified ten assistant advocate generals in view of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) notification dated April 11. The names include Barrister Asjad Saeed, Amar Sanaullah, Mohammad Tariq Mehmood Butt, Ahmad Hassan Rana, Mohammad Tariq Nadeem, Barrister Bushra Saqib, Asif Afzal Bhatti, Chaudhry Mohammad Jawed Yaqub, Khalid Masood Ghani Barrister Ameer Abbas Ali Khan.

Hours before the end of its tenure, the Shehbaz Sharif-led government appointed Asma as the new advocate general of the province, making her the first woman to hold this constitutional post. The decision was signed by Shehbaz on his last day in office.

The move received bitter criticism from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Terming it a move to manipulate the upcoming elections, PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry alleged that the appointment was made to serve the interests of the Sharif brothers.

In a letter written to the caretaker chief minister of Punjab, the Imran Khan-led party said the appointment was made to reward allegiance and personal ties with Sharif family and to shield their actions. It also alleged that the appointment was aimed “to provide covert and announced aid to PML-N’s candidates and pave way for pre-poll rigging”.