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

Attorney General for Pakistan 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 recommended by the Prime M ...

from 2016 to 2018, and from 2022 to 2023. In his first term, he co-drafted the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the

Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ; ISO 15919, ISO: '' Āīn-ē-Pākistān''), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. The document guides Pakistan's law, political culture, and system. It sets out the state's outlin ...

, which merged the

Federally Administered Tribal Areas The Federally Administered Tribal Areas, commonly known as FATA, was a semi-autonomous tribal region in north-western Pakistan that existed from 1947 until being merged with the neighbouring province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018 through the ...

with

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

. 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 Public Prosecutor General or Prosecutor General may refer to: * Prosecutor General of Lithuania * Prosecutors General of Azerbaijan * Prosecutor General (Albania) * Prosecutor General of Armenia * Prosecutor General of the Republic (Brazil) * Pros ...

of the Punjab province from 2011 to 2012. His daughter was the chef Fatima Ali, who died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in 2019, at the age of 29.

Early life and education

Ausaf was born in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

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

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Forman Christian College Forman Christian College is a private nonprofit Liberal arts college, liberal arts Universities in Pakistan, university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1864 and is administered by the Presbyterian Church (USA), Presbyterian Church ...

in 1975, and his LLB from

Punjab University Punjab University may refer to: India * Punjab Agricultural University, a state agricultural university in Ludhiana, Punjab * I. K. Gujral Punjab Technical University, a state university in Kapurthala, Punjab * Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Techn ...

in 1980, where he also taught as

adjunct lecturer An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

for

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

from 1984 to 1988. He became a member of the Lahore Bar Association in 1980, and was awarded an MCL from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

, where he was a member of the

Phi Delta Phi Phi Delta Phi (), commonly known as Phid or PDP, is an international legal honor society and the oldest legal organization in continuous existence in the United States. Founded in 1869 at the University of Michigan as a professional fraternity, ...

legal fraternity.

Legal career

Ausaf came to prominence in the 1990s as a

litigator A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. Th ...

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: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Ghulam Ishaq Khan Ghulam Ishaq Khan (20 January 1915 – 27 October 2006), commonly known by his initials GIK, was a Pakistani bureaucrat, politician and statesman who served as the seventh President of Pakistan from 1988 to 1993. He previously served as Chairm ...

dismissed the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

in 1993, he successfully represented Sharif before the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan (; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance witPart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it h ...

against the

dissolution of parliament The dissolution of a legislative assembly (or parliament) is the simultaneous termination of service of all of its members, in anticipation that a successive legislative assembly will reconvene later with possibly different members. In a democracy ...

. 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 universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

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

Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...

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. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

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 ...

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, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a strongman, or by a council of mi ...

from the Lahore office of the

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (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 and prom ...

on 5 November 2007. He suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in custody and was hospitalised.

Advocate General of Punjab

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

Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) The Pakistan Muslim League (N) or (PML(N)) is a centre-right, conservative political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate and the largest in the National Assembly. The party was founded in 1993, when a num ...

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, also known as a caretaker regime, 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 co ...

took over for the 2013 elections, and resumed private practice at his law firm, Ashtar Ali & Co.

Escape from gun attack

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

dacoit Dacoity is a term used for "banditry" in the Indian subcontinent. The spelling is the anglicised version of the Hindi word डाकू (ḍākū); "dacoit" is a colloquial Indian English word with the meaning "a robber belonging to an armed ...

s robbing a woman in Garden Town, 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 designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

, 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 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's ...

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 parliam ...

on 29 March 2016, following the resignation of Salman Aslam Butt, with Ahmed Malik 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 to the Constitution of Pakistan was passed by the Parliament of Pakistan and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in May 2018. Under the amendment, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Provincially Administered ...

, 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 A democratic transition describes a phase in a country's political system as a result of an ongoing change from an authoritarian regime to a Democracy, democratic one. The process is known as democratisation, political changes moving in a democrat ...

Second tenure (2022–2023)

Ausaf returned as AG on 9 May 2022, when President

Arif Alvi Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi () is a Pakistani politician who served as the 13th President of Pakistan, in office from 2018 to 2024. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2018 and again from August to September 2018. ...

approved his appointment on the advice of Prime Minister

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who has served as the 20th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan since March 2024, having previously been in the role between Ap ...

. 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. His resignation was formally accepted on 19 January 2023, after the designated Attorney General, Mansoor Usman Awan, recused himself from the post.

Also See

* Advocate General Punjab *

Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan The Supreme Court Bar Association () (SCBAP) is an association established in 1989 comprising the supreme court lawyers in Pakistan. The Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act 1973 provides for the forming, recognition and functioning of Bar A ...

References

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