Asma Hamid’s appointment as AG Punjab pre-poll rigging: PTI

LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Tuesday termed Additional Advocate General Asma Hamid’s appointment as advocate general of Punjab pre-poll rigging, ARY News reported.

On Sunday evening, Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif reportedly approved a summary with regard to the appointment of Ms Hamid as first-ever woman AGP.

The appointment came just days before the PML-N government completes its five-year tenure on May 31.

In a letter written to the Chief Election Commissioner and nominated Punjab caretaker chief minister, PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry pointed out that Hamid’s appointment was made in a helter-skelter manner without following the required procedure laid down for such an appointment.

Expressing concern over the appointment, he termed it pre-poll rigging and requested the CEC and Punjab caretaker chief minister to declare it illegal and void.

Chaudhry said Ms Hamid’s father Shahid Hamid and uncle Zahid Hamid are the Sharif family’s loyalists, suggesting that her appointment was made on political basis rather than  merit.

The PTI leader also demanded that Ali Jahangir Siddiqui’s appointment as Pakistan ambassador to the United States should also be declared void and of no legal effect.

He alleged that Siddiqui’s appointment was made on basis of his close ties with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

The appointment of Siddiqui, who is facing a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) inquiry for allegedly causing a loss of Rs40 billion to the national exchequer through embezzlement, had triggered strong criticism from opposition parties, mainly PTI.

A petition challenging his appointment is also pending in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

Siddiqui, who holds a BA in Economics from Cornell University, US, is the son of the famous banker and businessman Jahangir Siddiqui. He has served as director of Airblue airlines, Lucky Cement, Azgard Nine along with several other companies. In 2014, he was honoured as a Young Global Leader by World Economic Forum.

Besides, he has also served as member of the Privatisation Commission, the Private Sector Advisory Board of the Planning Commission, the Sindh Board of Investment, and as member of the Community Development Board of the Government of Sindh.