Ashtar Ausaf Ali (born 19 June 1956) is a Pakistani lawyer who twice served as the

Attorney General for Pakistan The Attorney-General for Pakistan is the chief law officer and legal advisor of the Government of Pakistan, Government of Pakistan and enjoys rights of audience before Parliament of Pakistan, Parliament. The Attorney-General, who serves as Pakistan ...

from 2016 to 2018, and in 2022. In his first term, he co-drafted the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the

Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ur, ), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. Drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country's Pakistani political parties, opposition ...

, which merged the

Federally Administered Tribal Areas , conventional_long_name = Federally Administered Tribal Areas , nation = Pakistan , subdivision = Autonomous territory , image_flag = Flag of FATA.svg , image_coat = File:Coat of arms ...

with

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

. Ausaf previously served as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Law and Justice from 2015 to 2016, twice as Advocate General of Punjab from 1998 to 1999 and 2012 to 2013, and as

Prosecutor General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

of the province from 2011 to 2012. His daughter was the chef

Fatima Ali Fatima Ali (August 8, 1989 – January 25, 2019) was a Pakistani-American executive chef, restaurateur and television personality. She was known for her successful appearances on reality cooking shows ''Chopped'' and ''Top Chef'', and for posthum ...

, who died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in 2019, at the age of 29.

Early life and education

Ausaf was born in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, the eldest son of lawyer and diplomat Iftikhar Ali Sheikh. He completed his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from

Forman Christian College Forman Christian College is an private liberal arts university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1864 and is administered by the Presbyterian Church. The university follows an American-style curriculum. Founded in 1864 by American ...

in 1975, and his LLB from Punjab University in 1980, where he also taught as adjunct lecturer for

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

from 1984 to 1988. He became a member of the

Lahore Bar Association Lahore Bar Association is a professional organization of lawyers in Lahore, Pakistan. Its members historically played a major role in the Pakistani independence movement.{{Cite web, url=http://nation.com.pk/lahore/11-Jan-2014/lahore-bar-associatio ...

in 1980, and was awarded an MCL from

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , preside ...

, where he was a member of the

Phi Delta Phi Phi Delta Phi () is an international legal honor society and the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. Phi Delta Phi was originally a professional fraternity but became an honor society in 2012. The fraternity ...

legal fraternity.

Legal career

Ausaf came to prominence in the 1990s as a

litigator - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...

and

constitutional lawyer Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in feder ...

. After

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Ghulam Ishaq Khan Ghulam Ishaq Khan ( ur, غلام اسحاق خان; 20 January 1915 – 27 October 2006), was a Pakistani bureaucrat who served as the seventh president of Pakistan, elected in 1988 following Zia's death until his resignation in 1993. He wa ...

dismissed the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

in 1993, he successfully represented Sharif before the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan ( ur, ; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance to thePart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it has ultimate a ...

against the

dissolution of parliament The dissolution of a legislative assembly is the mandatory simultaneous resignation of all of its members, in anticipation that a successive legislative assembly will reconvene later with possibly different members. In a democracy, the new assemb ...

. The Supreme Court overturned the dismissal, and Sharif was re-elected in 1997. Ausaf was then appointed Advisor to the Prime Minister on

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

. He was appointed Advocate General of Punjab in May 1998, but resigned from his post when General

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...

overthrew the Sharif government in a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

Detention during emergency rule

Ausaf supported the

Lawyers' Movement The Lawyers' Movement, also known as the Movement for the Restoration of Judiciary or the Black Coat Protests, was the popular mass protest movement initiated by the lawyers of Pakistan in response to the former president and army chief Pervez Mus ...

for the restoration of an independent

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

. After Musharraf declared a state of emergency in 2007, Ausaf was detained by the

military regime A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...

from the Lahore office of the

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan ( ur, ) (HRCP) is an independent, democratic non-profit organisation. Founded in 1987, it is one of the oldest human rights organisations in the country. HRCP is committed to monitoring, protecting a ...

on 5 November 2007. He suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in custody and was hospitalised.

Advocate General Punjab

Following general elections in 2008, General Musharraf resigned as President. The

Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a centre-right and liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Party ...

formed the provincial government in Punjab, and Ausaf was appointed Prosecutor General of the province in 2011, before again being appointed Advocate General on 2 January 2012, having first served at the post 14 years ago. He stepped down when the

caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...

took over for the 2013 elections, and resumed

private practice Private practice may refer to: *Private sector practice **Practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiati ...

at his law firm, Ashtar Ali & Co.

Escape from gun attack

On 29 June 2013, Ausaf's convoy came across two armed

dacoits Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word ''daaku''; "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with this meaning and it appears in the ''Glossary of Colloqui ...

robbing a woman in

Garden Town The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, industry, and ...

, Lahore. Ausaf ordered his guards to intervene, upon which the dacoits opened fire on Ausaf's car. Ausaf was unharmed. After fleeing the scene, the dacoits were arrested from Band Road.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister

Following Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)'s victory in the general elections in 2013, Ausaf was appointed to Prime Minister Sharif's cabinet as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Law, with the status of

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

, on 25 February 2015, and handed charge of the Ministry of Law and Justice.

Attorney-General for Pakistan

First tenure (2016–2018)

Ausaf was appointed the 29th

Attorney-General for Pakistan The Attorney-General for Pakistan is the chief law officer and legal advisor of the Government of Pakistan and enjoys rights of audience before Parliament. The Attorney-General, who serves as Pakistan's public prosecutor, is nominated by the Prime ...

in a

cabinet reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the Head of State changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parlia ...

on 29 March 2016, following the resignation of Salman Aslam Butt, with

Zahid Hamid Zahid Hamid (; born 24 October 1947) is a Pakistani politician, and lawyer. A member of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Hamid previously served as the Minister for Law and Justice and Minister of Climate Change in the Third Sharif ministry b ...

reappointed Minister for Law and Justice in Ausaf's place. As Attorney-General, he co-drafted the

Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan The Twenty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution of Pakistan, officially known as the Constitution (Twenty-fifth Amendment) Act, 2018 (formerly Constitution (Thirty-first Amendment) Act, 2018), was passed by the Parliament of Pakistan and the Khyb ...

, which merged the

with

province. He resigned on 20 June 2018 stating the need to ensure free and fair elections, and a smooth

democratic transition Democratization, or democratisation, is the transition to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction. It may be a hybrid regime in transition from an authoritarian regime to a full ...

Second tenure (2022)

Ausaf returned as AG on 9 May 2022, when President

Arif Alvi Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi (; born 29 July 1949) is a Pakistani dentist and politician currently serving as the 13th President of Pakistan, in office since 9 September 2018. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2 ...

approved his appointment on the advice of Prime Minister

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: , ; born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who is currently serving as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, in office since 11 April 2022. He is the current president of ...

. Ausaf tendered his resignation in October, citing severe health issues, and recovering from surgery. Sharif directed him to continue in office until the government named his replacement. He was succeeded by Mansoor Awan on 22 December 2022.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Ashtar Ausaf 1956 births People from Lahore 20th-century Pakistani lawyers Pakistan Muslim League (N) politicians Forman Christian College alumni Punjab University Law College alumni University of the Punjab faculty George Washington University Law School alumni Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Shooting survivors Living people 21st-century Pakistani lawyers Attorneys General of Pakistan