AGP’s resignation

Khan was left with few options after being criticised by honourable judges of the top court and Pakistan Bar Council

Anwar Mansoor Khan has resigned as Attorney General for Pakistan after his severely miscalculated line of argument in the Supreme Court in a case relating to the presidential reference against Justice Qazi Faez Isa. Khan was left with few options after being criticised by honourable judges of the top court as well as the Pakistan Bar Council. Even the government he was representing had quickly distanced itself from his remarks, which the Supreme Court expunged from the record and barred the media from reporting. That in itself says a lot for how far across the line the now-former AGP went. There is also some irony in the situation because Khan is also the chairman of the PBC. The PBC was highly critical of Khan. Law Minister Farogh Naseem too said the AGP’s “unbecoming conduct” merited resignation and unconditional apology.

The order from Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Wednesday did, however, offer a hint at what the AGP had said. The judge referred to a “statement made by the AGP about the bench” and said the judges “would appreciate” if the material the statement was based on is placed on record before the bench. Khan’s apology also shed some light on what was said, as it included references to the composition of the bench and alleged efforts to force the recusals of some judges, which he claimed to have “personal knowledge” of. It also drafted a contempt of court petition, though it had not been filed when Khan submitted his resignation.

The statement through which the government distanced itself from Khan was also worrying. The law secretary claims that the “oral statement” made by Khan was “unauthorised, without instructions and knowledge of the federal government and the answering respondents, and totally uncalled for”. The government’s claim that it did not know what its top lawyer was about to say in a case with potentially huge repercussions is not something that inspires confidence in its legal or political teams. As for the presidential reference itself, the judges’ comments on the government’s investigation and assumptions may well reflect the weakness of the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 22^nd, 2020.

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