Attorney General AJ Mohammad Ali quits

Dhaka, Jan 24 (bdnews24.com) - Attorney general AJ Mohammad Ali stepped down Wednesday.

"The news of resignation is correct. I have sent my resignation letter to the president at noon," Mohammad Ali told bdnews24.com immediately after word was out that the top government attorney was going to resign.

His private secretary carried the letter to the Bangabhaban, he said.

Ali however declined to say why he decided to quit the post.

It was not clear if President Iajuddin Ahmed had accepted the resignation.

Sources close to the law ministry said Barrister Akhter Imam was named as the new attorney general and the law ministry sent the proposal to the chief adviser for approval. In a late-night development, the sources said the proposal was awaiting a 'security clearance'.

Ali, son of the country's first attorney general MH Khandaker, was appointed as the 12th attorney general on April 30, 2005.

Soon after President Iajuddin Ahmed took charge of the caretaker government late October, lawyers' groups demanded Ali's resignation, accusing him of bias toward the BNP and its allies.

Ali's tenure ended finally Wednesday after one year, eight months and 24 days in office.

He attended the office Wednesday and handled quite a few cases with the Appellate Division, sources said.

Ali's close aide Mohammad Salahuddin told reporters at the attorney general's office at 5pm that he decided to resign on "some personal grounds".

But Salahuddin could not confirm if the president accepted his resignation.

Law adviser Mainul Hosein told bdnews24.com that the change in the top post of the government's legal office was natural.

"As the government has changed, it's usual that the attorney general will be changed," Hosein said.

He said the government has already selected a man for the post, but declined to name him.

Ali faced severe criticism after chief justice Syed JR Mudassir Husain suspended a court ruling on writ appeals against Iajuddin that led to vandalism by a group of lawyers in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court Bar Association has since been demanding his resignation.

In reaction to the resignation, Bangladesh Bar Council Vice Chairman Barrister Rokanuddin Mahmud said Ali should have resigned much earlier.

"He became controversial by advising the Iajuddin-led caretaker government on behalf of the BNP-led four-party alliance," Rokanuddin, who recently joined the Awami League, said.

"He has a role to make that interim government controversial."

BNP law affairs secretary Joynal Abedin also appreciated Ali's decision.

"He was appointed by a political government. Now an interim government is running the country. He has taken the right decision," Joynal said.

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