LAHORE: The Punjab caretaker government on Wednesday appointed Additional Advocate General Muhammad Shan Gul as the Punjab advocate general, removing Asma Hamid, who was the first woman to hold the important constitutional post, from the office.
According to the notification issued, Gul has been assigned to look after the duties of the advocate general till the appointment of a new candidate.
Speaking to reporters about her sudden removal, Asma Hamid claimed she had learnt of her removal via media reports. She said she not been told about the decision earlier and had not been given any explanation regarding her removal.
Following her dismissal, the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) issued a press release condemning the “arbitrary removal” of Hamid as an “abuse of discretion and a blatant violation of due process”.
Hamid’s appointment as AGP was approved by Punjab’s former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif on May 28, two days before the provincial government completed its term. She was given the office after former AGP Shakilur Rehman Khan tendered his resignation.
At the time, sources in the AGP office said that it would be up to the caretaker setup of Punjab whether to sustain Hamid’s appointment or to appoint a new incumbent during the interim government as per convention.
Hamid is the daughter of former Punjab governor Shahid Hamid and niece of former federal law minister Zahid Hamid. She was appointed as assistant advocate general in January 2014 and later elevated to AAG on Feb 18, 2015.
Meanwhile, the newly-appointed AG told Pakistan Today that he didn’t know why the government would remove Asma from the post and appoint him instead.
“I do not know why the government reconsidered their decision about Asma and appointed me,” he said.
“It is all up to the government and those are the orders we received,” he added.
However, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had opposed Hamid’s appointment, saying her family was being rewarded for having personal ties with the Sharif family.
The PTI had expressed its reservations in a letter to the chief election commissioner and caretaker Punjab chief minister.