Around the corner: Sindh government mulls next AG
Likely to tap KK Agha as the top legal officer
GUANGZHOU/ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan Peoples Party-led government in Sindh is considering the possibility of appointing KK Agha as its top legal adviser, The Express Tribune has learnt.
Agha was serving as an additional attorney general when he was tapped as National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chief prosecutor by the PPP government in 2011.
Sources privy to the development revealed that the provincial government plans to tap Agha as the advocate general. The move comes as the provincial government grapples with an observation made by the apex court, wherein the court indicated that it was not receiving passable assistance from Sindh’s top legal adviser.
“We have been informed by Sindh AG Fateh Muhammad Malik himself that Agha is being appointed as the new AG,” an official said while speaking on the condition of anonymity.
However, contradicting the statement, another law officer said that provincial authorities have assured Malik that he would not be removed from the AG’s office.
Earlier this year, Agha was nominated for the position of Sindh High Court (SHC) judge but he refused to relinquish his foreign nationality – a prerequisite for the post.
In April, Agha’s name was recommended by former SHC chief justice (CJ) Maqbool Baqir for the position of an additional judge. However, the process was deferred when the judicial panel learnt that Agha possessed foreign nationality.
Defending his stance back then, Agha stated that if he surrendered his British nationality it might reflect his desire to become a judge which itself is an act that could disqualify any candidate.
In his defence, the anti-graft watchdog’s chief prosecutor also said there was no restriction on holding dual nationalities under the law for judges and he sees no reason to renounce it.
Interestingly, Agha has already served as a SHC judge for a few months before being removed following Supreme Court’s July 31, 2009 judgment, which ousted more than 100 judges.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 2nd, 2014.
The Pakistan Peoples Party-led government in Sindh is considering the possibility of appointing KK Agha as its top legal adviser, The Express Tribune has learnt.
Agha was serving as an additional attorney general when he was tapped as National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chief prosecutor by the PPP government in 2011.
Sources privy to the development revealed that the provincial government plans to tap Agha as the advocate general. The move comes as the provincial government grapples with an observation made by the apex court, wherein the court indicated that it was not receiving passable assistance from Sindh’s top legal adviser.
“We have been informed by Sindh AG Fateh Muhammad Malik himself that Agha is being appointed as the new AG,” an official said while speaking on the condition of anonymity.
However, contradicting the statement, another law officer said that provincial authorities have assured Malik that he would not be removed from the AG’s office.
Earlier this year, Agha was nominated for the position of Sindh High Court (SHC) judge but he refused to relinquish his foreign nationality – a prerequisite for the post.
In April, Agha’s name was recommended by former SHC chief justice (CJ) Maqbool Baqir for the position of an additional judge. However, the process was deferred when the judicial panel learnt that Agha possessed foreign nationality.
Defending his stance back then, Agha stated that if he surrendered his British nationality it might reflect his desire to become a judge which itself is an act that could disqualify any candidate.
In his defence, the anti-graft watchdog’s chief prosecutor also said there was no restriction on holding dual nationalities under the law for judges and he sees no reason to renounce it.
Interestingly, Agha has already served as a SHC judge for a few months before being removed following Supreme Court’s July 31, 2009 judgment, which ousted more than 100 judges.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 2nd, 2014.