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President Arif Alvi on Monday appointed Mansoor Usman Awan as the new Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) after earlier accepting the resignation of Shehzad Ata Elahi, who stepped down after serving less than two months in the office.
In a notification issued by the Law Ministry, the president approved Awan’s appointment under Article 100(1) of the Constitution, adding that his rank and status would be equal to that of a federal minister.
Awan had previously been nominated for the post last year had not been officially notified, prompting him to decline the office. Elahi was then appointed, with media reports alleging that he was considered “acceptable” by the senior judiciary while Awan was not. Last week, Elahi submitted his resignation, citing “personal reasons.”
According to Awan’s profile, he secured a Master of Laws (LLM) degree from Harvard Law School after completing a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the Punjab University. He has been awarded the Justice M. Jan Memorial gold medal for obtaining first position in jurisprudence and Charles Earl Bevan Petman Law Prize for first position in criminal law. In addition, he was a recipient of the Harvard Law School Dean’s Award for Leadership in 2005 and also served as the LLM Representative to Harvard Law School Council and as the vice president of the Harvard Graduate Council.