ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s law minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Monday sent his resignation to President Arif Alvi, saying he was not able to continue his responsibilities as federal minister “due to personal reasons.”
While his resignation has not been accepted until now, he dispatched it to the president shortly after attending a meeting of the Judicial Commission of Pakistan to discuss elevation of judges to the country’s apex court.
It was widely reported that the law minister was not in agreement with the government’s decision to support Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial’s elevation of junior judges to the Supreme Court.
“I have had the great honor and privilege to serve my country as the Federal Minister for Law and Justice under the able leadership of Mian Mohammed Shehbaz Shareef, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” he said in his resignation letter. “However, due to personal reasons, I am unable to discharge my duties as the Federal Minister.”
Tarar, who belongs to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, has been a member of the Senate since March 2021.
He was appointed as law minister in April after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration drove Imran Khan out of power in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence before taking over the helm of the country.
Tarar was also present at the Asma Jahangir Conference in Lahore where some people raised anti-establishment slogans during his speech.
“I am disappointed the way a small group of participants behaved at [the conference] today by unnecessarily chanting slogans against state institutions,” he said in a Twitter post.
Tarar mentioned the “achievements” of these institutions while asking people to “respect each other’s point of view” since it was the “hallmark” of democratic societies.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also condemned the “unjustified sloganeering” at the event while pointing out it was unfortunate that the forum was being used to target state institutions.
