Advocate General Punjab (AGP) Shahzad Shaukat on Wednesday resigned from the post a day after a change of government in the province.
Shaukat was appointed as AGP three months ago by former Punjab chief minister Hamza Shehbaz.
Additional Advocate General Punjab Akhtar Javed has been given the additional charge of the post. He will represent the provincial government in the courts for now.
In recent months, the appointment of the top law officer remained a thorny issue for the provincial government.
As PML-N leader Hamza Shehbaz took oath as CM on April 29, 2022 he appointed Shahzad Shaukat as AGP on May 31, 2022.
“The Governor of Punjab is pleased to appoint Mr Shahzad Shaukat, Advocate Supreme Court of Pakistan, as Advocate General Punjab, with immediate effect in public interest on terms and conditions,” read a notification issued by the former PML-N government. It also issued another notification in which it removed Ahmed Awais from the post.
Moreover, the previous government restrained Awais from appearing before courts on its behalf and assigned the responsibility of the office to Additional Advocate General Jawwad Yaqoob. The AGP office, meanwhile, was locked and the then AGP Awais was barred from entering the office.
However, Awais refused to quit and approached the Lahore High Court challenging the government’s decision of stopping him from working as AGP. He was of the view that the office of AGP is a constitutional post and he was supposed to hold office at the pleasure of the governor.
The summary remained pending for some time for a final approval as the office of governor was vacant after the Cabinet Division sent PTI leader Omar Sarfraz Cheema packing. Later, Awais tendered his resignation from the post when the coalition government appointed PML-N loyalist Balighur Rehman as the Punjab governor on May 31.
