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Infighting between two top legal minds of Nawaz govt
Ansar Abbasi
Sunday, October 12, 2014
From Print Edition
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may have to make a choice between the two top legal minds of the government - Law Secretary Barrister Zafarullah Khan and Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt - as the former has tendered his resignation and refused to take it back if the AGP office is detached from the Law Ministry.
The infighting between the two over key appointments of senior law officers and in regard to the AGP Office’s direct interactions with ministries, divisions and other government agencies bypassing the Law Ministry, could not be settled yet despite the reconciliatory role played by some federal ministers.
Sources in the Prime Minister Office confided to The News that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is now expected to directly talk to the law secretary and the attorney general to get the issue settled. He is likely to meet the two next week.
The differences between the law secretary and the attorney general recently reached an extent where Zafarullah Khan sent his resignation to the PM after the government had shown its intention to detach the AGP Office from the Law Ministry to end the stand-off.
Zafarullah Khan conveyed to the prime minister that such a situation is unacceptable to him, therefore, he has decided to resign. Being a contract appointee, Zafarullah Khan is presently serving a one-month notice period which will end on Oct 20, the date when the resignation would become effective.
Talking to The News, the attorney general was, however, of the view that historically the office of the AG has been an independent entity. He even cited the example of the United States where the attorney general’s office works as an independent body.
The sources said that the basic differences between the two cropped up over the appointment of key law officers by the attorney general, allegedly without following the procedure set by the government. The law secretary had objections to those appointments particularly against some of those who have been associated with the legal team of General Musharraf in the high treason case which was prepared by the incumbent law secretary.
The attorney general, however, was of the view that all the appointments that he had made are purely on merit and those appointed are graduates from top US and British universities. He insisted that the appointees are professional lawyers and their standing is acclaimed even by the judges of the superior judiciary.
The prime minister did not want to lose either of the two and thus had assigned some of his cabinet ministers to stop Zafarullah Khan from leaving. Zafarullah Khan, in return, has set some tough conditions in order to withdraw his resignation.
The sources said that the law secretary is not prepared to accept any amendment in the Rules of Business to get the AGP Office detached from the Law Ministry. He insists that the AG officially has been acting as an attached department of the law ministry since long.
Zafarullah Khan, the sources said, demands the complete implementation of the existing Rules of Business where the office of attorney general is bound to act as a subordinate entity of the Law Ministry. Zafarullah Khan has also sought the removal of the controversial appointments made by the attorney general.
The PM Office was inclined to accept the attorney general’s request that his office should be detached from the Law Ministry and made an independent entity. This requires a change in the Rules of Business. However, the position taken by Barrister Zafarullah Khan has complicated the problem.
Zafarullah Khan has been complaining to his higher authorities about how the attorney general was bypassing the Law Ministry while interacting with other government ministries, divisions and agencies. The PM Office sources said that the AG was of the view that he was holding a constitutional position, which has the status of a federal minister.
On the issue of a Mercedes car sought by the attorney general, as has been highlighted by the media recently, the Law Ministry not only told the prime minister that the attorney general is authorised to an 1,800cc car and not the 2,400cc Mercedes but also referred the matter to the Finance Ministry. The Finance Ministry was also reluctant to allocate Rs13 million for the purchase of the car.
However, when the issue was taken up by the media, the attorney general reportedly withdrew his request for the provision of a 2,400cc Mercedes.
The law secretary was also upset as to why the attorney general directly approached the Prime Minister’s Office for the provision of an official vehicle for which he was not entitled. According to media reports, the AG Office had approached the Prime Minister Office on August 4 regarding the provision of a 2,400cc vehicle for Salman Aslam Butt. The very next day, on August 5, the prime minister approved the purchase of a 2,400cc vehicle for the AG.
On August 18, according to the report, the AG’s secretary conveyed the prime minister’s approval to the Law Ministry and asked the ministry to release Rs13 million as a “technical supplementary grant for the purchase of a Mercedes-Benz E250 sedan car”.
The Law Ministry, the media report added, sent the request back to the prime minister with the observations that, “The entitlement of a vehicle for the Attorney General of Pakistan is as admissible to a judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan which is 1,800cc, while the prime minister has approved a vehicle of 2,400cc.”
The PM though had allowed the purchase of a 2,400cc car but did not specify a Mercedes. The AGP though was quoted as saying that the purchase of a 2,400cc car was not unprecedented. The sources said that following media reports, he withdrew his request for the provision of a Mercedes.
The News
Ansar Abbasi
Sunday, October 12, 2014
From Print Edition
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif may have to make a choice between the two top legal minds of the government - Law Secretary Barrister Zafarullah Khan and Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt - as the former has tendered his resignation and refused to take it back if the AGP office is detached from the Law Ministry.
The infighting between the two over key appointments of senior law officers and in regard to the AGP Office’s direct interactions with ministries, divisions and other government agencies bypassing the Law Ministry, could not be settled yet despite the reconciliatory role played by some federal ministers.
Sources in the Prime Minister Office confided to The News that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is now expected to directly talk to the law secretary and the attorney general to get the issue settled. He is likely to meet the two next week.
The differences between the law secretary and the attorney general recently reached an extent where Zafarullah Khan sent his resignation to the PM after the government had shown its intention to detach the AGP Office from the Law Ministry to end the stand-off.
Zafarullah Khan conveyed to the prime minister that such a situation is unacceptable to him, therefore, he has decided to resign. Being a contract appointee, Zafarullah Khan is presently serving a one-month notice period which will end on Oct 20, the date when the resignation would become effective.
Talking to The News, the attorney general was, however, of the view that historically the office of the AG has been an independent entity. He even cited the example of the United States where the attorney general’s office works as an independent body.
The sources said that the basic differences between the two cropped up over the appointment of key law officers by the attorney general, allegedly without following the procedure set by the government. The law secretary had objections to those appointments particularly against some of those who have been associated with the legal team of General Musharraf in the high treason case which was prepared by the incumbent law secretary.
The attorney general, however, was of the view that all the appointments that he had made are purely on merit and those appointed are graduates from top US and British universities. He insisted that the appointees are professional lawyers and their standing is acclaimed even by the judges of the superior judiciary.
The prime minister did not want to lose either of the two and thus had assigned some of his cabinet ministers to stop Zafarullah Khan from leaving. Zafarullah Khan, in return, has set some tough conditions in order to withdraw his resignation.
The sources said that the law secretary is not prepared to accept any amendment in the Rules of Business to get the AGP Office detached from the Law Ministry. He insists that the AG officially has been acting as an attached department of the law ministry since long.
Zafarullah Khan, the sources said, demands the complete implementation of the existing Rules of Business where the office of attorney general is bound to act as a subordinate entity of the Law Ministry. Zafarullah Khan has also sought the removal of the controversial appointments made by the attorney general.
The PM Office was inclined to accept the attorney general’s request that his office should be detached from the Law Ministry and made an independent entity. This requires a change in the Rules of Business. However, the position taken by Barrister Zafarullah Khan has complicated the problem.
Zafarullah Khan has been complaining to his higher authorities about how the attorney general was bypassing the Law Ministry while interacting with other government ministries, divisions and agencies. The PM Office sources said that the AG was of the view that he was holding a constitutional position, which has the status of a federal minister.
On the issue of a Mercedes car sought by the attorney general, as has been highlighted by the media recently, the Law Ministry not only told the prime minister that the attorney general is authorised to an 1,800cc car and not the 2,400cc Mercedes but also referred the matter to the Finance Ministry. The Finance Ministry was also reluctant to allocate Rs13 million for the purchase of the car.
However, when the issue was taken up by the media, the attorney general reportedly withdrew his request for the provision of a 2,400cc Mercedes.
The law secretary was also upset as to why the attorney general directly approached the Prime Minister’s Office for the provision of an official vehicle for which he was not entitled. According to media reports, the AG Office had approached the Prime Minister Office on August 4 regarding the provision of a 2,400cc vehicle for Salman Aslam Butt. The very next day, on August 5, the prime minister approved the purchase of a 2,400cc vehicle for the AG.
On August 18, according to the report, the AG’s secretary conveyed the prime minister’s approval to the Law Ministry and asked the ministry to release Rs13 million as a “technical supplementary grant for the purchase of a Mercedes-Benz E250 sedan car”.
The Law Ministry, the media report added, sent the request back to the prime minister with the observations that, “The entitlement of a vehicle for the Attorney General of Pakistan is as admissible to a judge of Supreme Court of Pakistan which is 1,800cc, while the prime minister has approved a vehicle of 2,400cc.”
The PM though had allowed the purchase of a 2,400cc car but did not specify a Mercedes. The AGP though was quoted as saying that the purchase of a 2,400cc car was not unprecedented. The sources said that following media reports, he withdrew his request for the provision of a Mercedes.
The News
