Govt mulls names for AGP following courts' displeasure.

ISLAMABAD -- With superior courts repeatedly asking for who is representing the attorney general for Pakistan (AGP), the federal government is weighing options to whom it should nominate for the coveted post.

Potential candidates include Advocate Feisal Hussain Naqvi and Barrister Shehzad Ata Elahi, both young and from Lahore, an informed source told Dawn.

The AGP office has been vacant since last October when Ashtar Ausaf Ali resigned, citing health reasons. In his place, Additional Attorney General Chaudhry Aamir Rehman has been appearing to represent the government before the Supreme Court.

The federal government's previous pick - Mansoor Usman Awan - finally gave way when he expressed his inability by writing a letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif due to the government's failure to issue notification despite his nomination approved by President Dr Arif Alvi on Dec 23.

Feisal Naqvi, Shehzad Ata Elahi said to be potential candidates

The absence of any officer to represent the AGP office had even caught the attention not only of the Supreme Court but also of the Islamabad High Court, which has even sought a proper explanation from the law ministry in this regard.

Feisal Naqvi, senior partner at the law firm Bhandari Naqvi Riaz, is a known corporate lawyer and recently represented Barrick Gold CorpAoration - the Canada-based firm working on the Reko Diq gold and copper mining project - to assist senior counsel Makhdoom Ali Khan before the Supreme Court in a settlement deal for the project.

He also assisted Mr Khan when the latter was serving as the AGP during the tenure of former president Pervez Musharraf.

He has also participated in several international arbitrations...