Staying put: PPP govt gone but AG Irfan Qadir won’t quit

Says he will hold office as long as the president wishes.

ISLAMABAD:

Attorney General Irfan Qadir says he has no plans to step down as the top law officer of the government, and will wait for a decision from the appointing authority, President Asif Ali Zardari.

“I never considered resignation as a desirable option. I will not hurry to take such a decision after the change of government following the May 11 general elections,” he said on Wednesday when asked by journalists whether he would continue with the new government or not.

Qadir, a former PCO judge of the Lahore High Court and a former law secretary, said he would hold office as long as the appointing authority wished and added that so far he has not been asked to relinquish his post.

The attorney general, known for his belligerent attitude towards the judiciary, was appointed by President Zardari on April 13, 2012. The prime minister had no role in his appointment, he said.

Qadir said he was allowed, under the Constitution to voice his independent opinion besides conveying the federal government’s versions to the court.



He claimed that there had been many decisions of the Supreme Court that were inconsistent with the Constitution and the law, and believed the new government would introduce legislation to remove such inconsistencies. He added that judges should use contempt of court powers sparingly as the practice did not help in improving the judiciary’s image.

Responding to questions, however, he said he considered the judiciary, led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, the most independent one, and hoped it would prove itself to be the most impartial one as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 16^th, 2013.