Makhdoom Ali Khan

Pakistani lawyer (born 1954)

Barrister Makhdoom Ali Khan
مخدوم علی خان
Attorney General of Pakistan
In office September 2001 – August 2007
Preceded by	Aziz A. Munshi
Succeeded by	Malik Mohammad Qayyum
Chairman Pakistan Bar Council
In office 2001–2007
Preceded by	Aziz A. Munshi
Succeeded by	Malik Mohammad Qayyum
Member chairman's Panel of Arbitrators International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
Incumbent
Assumed office 2011
Member London Court of International Arbitration
In office 2008–2013
Personal details
Born	(1954-01-09) 9 January 1954 (age 70) Inns of Court School of Law(BVC)
Occupation	Lawyer
Profession	Barrister
Website	www.fazleghani.com

As Attorney General he successfully represented the GoP to overturn through a review petition the judgement of the Supreme Court which had declared bank interest to be unIslamic. He also successfully argued before the Supreme Court that an adult Muslim woman can marry without the consent of a wali (male guardian), persuaded the court as amicus curaie to restrain the Government from raising constructions in the Murree and Margalla Hills areas which were a threat to the environment and to suspend the operation of a judgement of the High Court which had declared as unconstitutional the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance – a law which had set up special courts for juveniles. Khan advised President Musharraf to seek advisory opinion from the Supreme Court when the government of the religious parties sought to set up a moral police (Hasba bill) in the North West Frontier Province. His argument that the proposed legislation was unconstitutional succeeded and the Governor NWFP was restrained from signing into law the Bill passed by the Frontier Assembly. He also successfully represented the government in a large number of tax and commercial cases. Khan advised Pakistan on all public international law and international arbitration issues which included the disputed issue with India on the construction of Baghliar Dam and the Kishenganga Water dispute. He was on Court Notice in the Pakistan Steel Mills Case in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Reference of the Chief Justice of Pakistan in both the Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan and the Supreme Court. He advised the Government of Pakistan in the

He was also head of Pakistan's delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in 2004 (Agenda Item: Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism).[7]

Makhdoom Ali Khan was part of the three member Constitution Committee^[8] (along with former Law Minister Zahid Hamid and former Judge of the Supreme Court, Retd. Justice Bhandari) that drafted the Pakistan Cricket Board's current constitution.

He is known to be one of the four chief architects behind the

He resigned from the office of Attorney General (and thus also the ex officio Chairman of the Pakistan Bar Council) on 20 July 2007, citing as his reasons that his legal advice was consistently ignored and that the Reference was a huge failure for the GoP[9] and stated that it was disappointing that the concerned authorities were all placing the blame on others rather than accepting responsibility, making him the third longest serving Attorney General in the history of Pakistan. It was reported in Jang and The News newspapers that the President was reluctant to accept his resignation^[10] but eventually accepted it after eight days when Khan refused to take back his decision.

After his resignation^[11] he returned to private practice at Fazle Ghani Advocates where his practice predominantly consists of commercial litigation and arbitration, taxation, company/banking and constitutional litigation along with some appellate criminal litigation. He is known to be a specialist in taxation, corporate-commercial litigation and arbitration, constitutional and international law matters. Though he declined to advise the Government of Pakistan in politico-legal matters and also declined to appear for the President in the petitions challenging his election to office he continues to be retained by government departments in commercial and arbitration cases. Fazle Ghani Advocates' Karachi chambers are reputed to house the largest private law library in Pakistan. Khan has also written an authoritative commentary on the Constitution of Pakistan found in most law offices and chambers in Pakistan [ The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973: with Political parties Act, 1962, Political parties rules, 1986, election commission notification for registration of political parties, 1986: as amended up to March 1988 (edited & introduced by Makhdoom Ali Khan, Karachi: Pakistan Law House, 1988)] as well as a tract on the impediments to provincial autonomy in Pakistan with Shahid Kardar. Dawn and Jang Group both printed stories claiming Mr. Khan was responsible for drafting the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) after the imposition of emergency in Pakistan. (The fact that he never speaks to the media was also highlighted in one of these articles^[10] which was also brought to notice during the media frenzy of the CJ's Reference 2007 and which is in stark contrast to the current holder of the office of Attorney General.) However, sources close to him denied this and after further investigation both newspapers printed corrections and Jang Group also printed an apology on 15 November 2007 stating he is 'one of the most respected barristers in the country' and that he had resigned from the office of Attorney General during the judicial crisis 'on a matter of principle'.^[10]

After returning to private practice he appeared in many important commercial cases for Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, PTCL, Jang Group of Newspapers, Reckitt Benckiser, OMV, BHP Billiton, Petronas, MacDonald's, Citibank, Unilever, Occidental Petroleum, British Petroleum, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, Oil and Gas Development Company limited, Habib Bank Limited, Cinepax, Royal Palm Golf & Country Club, The Colony Group, IGI Insurance, The Hub Power Company Ltd., Government of Sindh, Ericsson Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd, Engro Fertilizers, General Electric, Huawei Technologies, MCB Bank Ltd, Exide Pakistan Limited, Honda Atlas Motors, Indus Motors, Gatron-Novatex, Geo Television Network, Mobilink, Telenor, Roche Pakistan Limited, Attock Oil and Pakistan Oil Fields amongst other clients in the Sindh High Court, Islamabad High Court, Lahore High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He is also sitting as an arbitrator in a number of important commercial matters both internationally and in Pakistan. His predominant place of practice is the Sindh High Court in Karachi, however, he also frequently appears for clients in the Islamabad High Court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan and his firm Fazleghani Advocates has offices in both Karachi and Islamabad.

In 2008 Makhdoom Ali Khan was part of an international team engaged by the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Government of Pakistan to challenge an arbitral award against it in the Commercial Court of the High Court of Justice, Queen's Bench Division in the United Kingdom. The decision was in their favour with $70 million damages awarded to the Ministry of Religious Affairs, Government of Pakistan.^[8][10] He has also appeared in all of the major cases involving the appointment of judges to the High Courts and Supreme Court of Pakistan since 2011. His view has remained consistent in all the cases he has argued on the issue; that the role of the Judicial Commission in determining the legal ability and fitness of a candidate being considered for appointment as a Judge of a High Court or Supreme Court of Pakistan is supreme, not open to review or appeal by other constitutional body, forum or functionary and is not justiciable.

Official posts held

• Attorney General
  , Pakistan: 2001–2007
• Chairman, Pakistan Bar Council: 2001–2007
• Member, Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan: 2001–2007
• board member, Federal Judicial Academy of Pakistan: 2001–2007
• board member, Sindh Judicial Academy
• Member, London Court of International Arbitration: 2008–2013
• Member chairman's Panel of Arbitrators, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes: 2011–present

Official posts declined

• Judge, Sindh High Court: 1996 & 1997
• Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan: 1999
• Advocate General Sindh: 2000
• Judge, Supreme Court of Pakistan: 2007 ^[12][8]
• Minister for Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs (Caretaker): 2007

See also

• Makhdoom

References