[JURIST] Pakistan’s Attorney General Anwar Mansoor announced his resignation Friday over controversy surrounding a Supreme Court order to investigate corruption allegations against President Asif Ali Zardari. Mansoor cited a lack of cooperation from Law Minister Babar Awan as a key factor in his decision, claiming the government was impeding him from following the Supreme Court’s orders. Mansoor alleges that the Law Ministry refused to turn over documents related to the investigation. Earlier this week, the Supreme Court threatened to imprison the head of Pakistan’s corruption agency for failing to meet a 24-hour deadline to reopen several corruption cases, including cases against Zardari. In response, police detained Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency Ahmed Riaz Sheikh, who was convicted of corruption eight years ago.
Mansoor’s announcement comes the same day that Pakistani lawmakers began weighing a constitutional bill that would greatly limit Zardari’s powers, reversing the expansion of presidential powers under former military leader Pervez Musharraf. Earlier this week, Swiss authorities denied a request from Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau, refusing to reopen a corruption investigation against Zadari. Aides to Zardari believe that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution, even after the Supreme Court overturned an amnesty law implemented by Musharraf. The amnesty was signed by Musharraf as part of a power-sharing accord allowing former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto to return to the country despite corruption charges she had faced.