PM’s adviser Kamal Azfar calls it quits

Adviser on National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) not sure if resignation accepted or not.

KARACHI: Barrister Kamal Azfar, adviser to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) with the status of federal minister, has resigned from his post.

“Yes, I have submitted my resignation,” Barrister Azfar, who has also served as Sindh governor, confirmed to The Express Tribune by phone. However, he said he was not sure if his resignation was accepted or not. “I had submitted it (resignation) two days back. I have no clue what the premier has decided,” he added.

Barrister Azfar plans to resume his legal practice. But before that he will need a certificate to assure the Pakistan Bar Council that he is not holding any official post.

The government had hired Barrister Azfar to defend the federation before the Supreme Court in the National Reconciliation Ordinance cases but later replaced him with Latif Khosa. Through Khosa the government on October 13 sought more time from the court on grounds of changing the defence counsel.

Immediately after issuance of notification of his appointment as adviser to prime minister, Barrister Azfar had made it clear that he would not be accepting the new office.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2010.