President Arif Alvi approves Ashtar Ausaf's appointment as AGP

• PM Shehbaz Sharif had appointed Ausaf as new AGP on Sunday.
• President Alvi approved appointment of new AGP as per premier's recommendation under Article 100(1) of Constitution.
• Ausaf served as AGP during tenure of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi has approved the appointment of renowned lawyer Ashtar Ausaf Ali as the new Attorney-General of Pakistan.

Ausaf had been designated on the post by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday. 

A statement issued by the official Twitter account of President of Pakistan said that President Alvi appointed the AGP as per the recommendation of the premier under Article 100(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan.

The post of attorney-general fell vacant after Khalid Javed Khan resigned on April 9 following the departure of the PTI government, saying he had tried to serve the country to the best of his ability and conscience.

Ashtar Ausaf Ali had served as special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM) on law and justice during 2015-16. He had been the AGP during the tenure of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

He previously served as Advocate General of Punjab twice, from 1998 to 1999 and 2012 to 2013. He also served as Prosecutor General of the province from 2011 to 2012, and as Advisor on Human Rights to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1997.

As Attorney-General, he spearheaded the drafting of the 25th Amendment merging FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, began the settlement process that culminated in the resolution of the $6 billion Reko Diq investment dispute, and the renewal of the GSP Plus trade package. He was, awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2018.