Senior lawyer excuses himself from joining legal reforms committee

Senior lawyer and former attorney general for Pakistan Makhdoom Ali Khan formally conveyed his reluctance to participate in the legal reforms committee constituted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday.

In a letter to Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, he stated that his name was suggested to be notified in the official Gazette as a member of the Legal Reforms Committee on March 13.

In the letter, the senior advocate expressed his appreciation for the nomination. "I am grateful to you and His Excellency, the Prime Minister for considering me as deserving of this high honour."

"I am afraid, however, that I must decline and request that my name may not be formally notified. If notified, the same may kindly be withdrawn."

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Khan stated that such an appointment would create a conflict of interest and it would, therefore, be improper for him to accept it. "Besides for other reasons both personal and professional, I am unable to accept this high honour," he added.

The committee is significant because there are rumours that the federal government is considering fixing the tenure of the office of the chief justice of Pakistan for three years through a constitutional amendment.

On March 13, Premier Shehbaz constituted an eight-member legal reforms committee to be chaired by the law minister.

Other members of the committee include Senator Ishaq Dar, Shahid Hamid, Zahid Hamid, Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Awan, SCBA President Shahzad Shaukat and PBC member Muhammad Ahsan Bhoon.