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{{short description|Pakistani lawyer|bot=PearBOT 5}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}{{Use Pakistani English|date=April 2019}}

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| honorific-suffix = | image = Ashtar Ausaf.jpg| imagesize = | alt = Attorney-General for Pakistan#List of attorneys-general>29th and 32nd Attorney-General for Pakistan| president = Arif Alvi| primeminister = Shehbaz Sharif| term_start = 9 May 2022| term_end = 19 January 2023| successor = Shehzad Ata Elahi| predecessor = Khalid Jawed Khan| president1 = Mamnoon Hussain| term_start1 = 29 March 2016| term_end1 = 21 June 2018| predecessor1 = Salman Aslam Butt| successor1 = Khalid Jawed KhanNawaz SharifShahid Khaqan AbbasiNasirul Mulk>Nasir-ul-MulkCabinet of Pakistan>Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Law and Justice| primeminister2 = Nawaz Sharif| successor2 = Zafarullah Khan| term_start2 = 25 February 2015| term_end2 = 28 March 2016Advocate General#Advocate General Punjab>Advocate General of Punjab| governor3 = Latif Khosa| term_start3 = 2 January 2012| term_end3 = 5 April 2013| predecessor3 = Khawaja Haris| successor3 = Shahid Karim| governor4 = Shahid Hamid| term_start4 = 20 November 1998| term_end4 = 12 October 1999| predecessor4 = Khawaja Muhammad Sharif| successor4 = Maqbool Elahi MalikProsecutor>Prosecutor General of Punjab| governor5 = Latif Khosa| term_start5 = 15 September 2011| term_end5 = 2 January 2012Sayed Zahid Hussain>Syed Zahid Hussain| successor5 = Sadaqat Ali Khan195019|df=y}}| birth_place = Lahore, PakistanForman Christian CollegeUniversity of the Punjab>Punjab UniversityGeorge Washington University| occupation = Lawyer| children = Fatima Ali| awards = Sitara-e-Imtiaz}}Ashtar Ausaf Ali (born 19 June 1950) is a Pakistani lawyer who twice served as the Attorney General for Pakistan 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, which merged the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.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 of the province from 2011 to 2012.WEB, LHC restrains Punjab government from removing law officers,www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013%5C04%5C11%5Cstory_11-4-2013_pg13_4, dailytimes.com, 29 September 2013, His daughter was the chef Fatima Ali, who died of cancer in 2019, at the age of 29.NEWS, Mays, Jeffrey C., Fatima Ali Obituary,www.nytimes.com/2019/01/26/obituaries/fatima-ali-dead-chef.html, The New York Times, 27 January 2019, 7 February 2019, NEWS, Jalil, Xari, Chef Fatima Ali laid to rest by family and friends in Lahore,images.dawn.com/news/1181782, Images, Dawn, 2 February 2019,

Early life and education

Ausaf was born in Lahore, Pakistan, the eldest son of lawyer and diplomat Iftikhar Ali Sheikh. He completed his Bachelor of Arts from Forman Christian College in 1975, and his LLB from Punjab University in 1980, where he also taught as adjunct lecturer for international law from 1984 to 1988. He became a member of the Lahore Bar Association in 1980, and was awarded an MCL from George Washington University, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity.

Legal career

Ausaf came to prominence in the 1990s as a litigator and constitutional lawyer. After President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismissed the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1993, he successfully represented Sharif before the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the dissolution of parliament. 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. He was appointed Advocate General of Punjab in May 1998, but resigned from his post when General Pervez Musharraf overthrew the Sharif government in a military coup.

Detention during emergency rule

Ausaf supported the Lawyers’ Movement for the restoration of an independent judiciary. After Musharraf declared a state of emergency in 2007, Ausaf was detained by the military regime from the Lahore office of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan on 5 November 2007. He suffered a heart attack in custody and was hospitalised.HRCP: Police attack at HRCP Head Office, 55 human rights activists arrested

Advocate General Punjab

File:Lahore_High_Court_Building.jpg|thumb|Lahore High CourtLahore High Court Following general elections in 2008, General Musharraf resigned as President. The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) 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 took over for the 2013 elections, and resumed private practice at his law firm, Ashtar Ali & Co.WEB, Ashtar Ausaf Ali,www.ashtarali.com/associates.htm, ashtarali.com, 29 September 2013, dead,www.ashtarali.com/associates.htm," title="web.archive.org/web/20131002113642www.ashtarali.com/associates.htm,">web.archive.org/web/20131002113642www.ashtarali.com/associates.htm, 2 October 2013,

Escape from gun attack

On 29 June 2013, Ausaf’s convoy came across two armed dacoits 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.Former AG Punjab Ashtar Ausaf escapes attack

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

Attorney-General for Pakistan

First tenure (2016–2018)

File:Supreme_Court_of_Pakistan,_Islamabad_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg|thumb|Supreme Court of PakistanSupreme Court of Pakistan Ausaf was appointed the 29th Attorney-General for Pakistan in a cabinet reshuffle on 29 March 2016, following the resignation of Salman Aslam Butt, with Ahmed Malik Minister for Law and Justice in Ausaf’s place.NEWS, Iqbal, Nasir, Ashtar Ausaf appointed attorney general,www.dawn.com/news/1248605, 24 April 2016, Dawn, Dawn Group, 29 March 2016, As Attorney-General, he co-drafted the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, which merged the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.He resigned on 20 June 2018 stating the need to ensure free and fair elections, and a smooth democratic transition.NEWS, Iqbal, Nasir, AG Ashtar Ausaf quits to help ensure fair elections,www.dawn.com/news/1415075/ag-ashtar-ausaf-quits-to-help-ensure-fair-elections, 2 July 2018, Dawn, Dawn Group, 21 June 2018,

Second tenure (2022–2023)

Ausaf returned as AG on 9 May 2022, when President Arif Alvi approved his appointment on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.NEWS, President Alvi approves Ashtar Ausaf’s appointment as attorney general,www.dawn.com/news/amp/1688801, Dawn, 9 May 2022, Ausaf tendered his resignation in October, citing severe health issues,WEB, 2022-10-12, AGP Ashtar Ausaf Ali resigns citing health issues: sources,www.thenews.com.pk/latest/999307-agp-ashtar-ausaf-ali-resigns-citing-health-issues-sources, 2022-10-12, The News International, en, and recovering from surgery.WEB, AGP leaves for US for medical treatment,www.thenews.com.pk/print/976356-agp-leaves-for-us-for-medical-treatment, 2022-10-12, www.thenews.com.pk, en, Sharif directed him to continue in officeWEB, 2022-10-12, Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf resigns on ‘health grounds’,dailytimes.com.pk/1011119/attorney-general-ashtar-ausaf-resigns-on-health-grounds/, 2022-10-12, Daily Times, en-US, 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.NEWS, Malik, Hasnaat, Mansoor Awan recuses from AGP appointment,tribune.com.pk/story/2396759/1, 19 January 2023, The Express Tribune, Express Group,

References

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