ISLAMABAD – After senior lawyer Kamal Azfar was withdrawn as counsel for the government in a review petition against the Supreme Court (SC)’s verdict on the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), Advocate-on-Record (AOR) Raja Abdul Ghafoor has also submitted an application seeking withdrawal, to be considered by the 17-member full court scheduled to resume hearing on the petition today (Monday).
Ghafoor’s application is likely to be accepted, and the new AOR Zafar Abbas Naqvi will also be allowed to represent the government in his stead since Ghafoor has given an authority letter to Naqvi.A few days ago, Ghafoor had refused to submit an application of the government for the replacement of Kamal Azfar with Dr Khalid Ranjha.
Around two months ago too, Ghafoor had filed an application in the apex court seeking withdrawal from the NRO review plea on the grounds that his hearing had weakened, thus he was unable to represent the government in a case as important as the NRO plea. He had also refused to file two miscellaneous applications of the federation in the review plea.
At the hearing of the review plea today, the court will also examine an investigation report to be submitted by the Islamabad police chief Wajid Durrani on a complaint about a threat made to Barrister Kamal Azfar allegedly by a lawyer believed to be close to government circles, even though he had disassociated himself from the NRO case.
