The Attorney-General for Pakistan is the chief law officer and legal advisor of the
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
of
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 ...
and enjoys rights of audience before
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
.
The Attorney-General, who serves as Pakistan's
public prosecutor
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the case in a criminal tria ...
, is nominated by the
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 ...
and appointed by the
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 ...
. The
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these pr ...
bars the Attorney-General from
private practice until the termination of his or her employment.
Article 100(3)
in Chapter 3: The Government in Part III: The Federation of Pakistan of 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 opposition parties, it was approved by ...
. The office was established in 1947.
The current Attorney-General is Ashtar Ausaf Ali, appointed in 2022. The longest-serving Attorney-General is Sharifuddin Pirzada
Sharifuddin Pirzada () NI (12 June 1923 – 2 June 2017) was a noted Pakistani Barrister who served as a senior advocate at the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Personal life
Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada was born in the city of Burhanpur, in what is t ...
, whereas Aziz A. Munshi held the office the most number of times, in four instances. The shortest-serving Attorney-General is Iqbal Haider
Iqbal Haider ( ur, اقبال حیدر; 14 January 1945 – 11 November 2012) was a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the co-chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan ("HRCP"). He was also a Senator, Federa ...
.
List of attorneys-general
; Ministry
Muslim League (2)
(9)
(6)
(2)
(4)
(13)
See also
*Attorney 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 ...
References
External links
Attorney General for Pakistan
{{Independent departments and agencies of the Government of Pakistan
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Pakistani lawyers
Cabinet of Pakistan
Pakistan federal departments and agencies
Ministry of Law and Justice (Pakistan)