The Pakistan Government has sacked a top law officer who swept floors, washed dishes and polished shoes at shrines and places of worship during a recent official trip to India to "promote inter-faith harmony"
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Muhammad Khurshid Khan, a deputy attorney general based in Peshawar, said he has been de-notified and replaced with Farooq Shah, The Express Tribune reports.
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Khan made headlines in the media this March by sweeping floors and polishing the shoes of devotees at Sikh gurdwaras in India. According to Khan, he did it "to heal the wounds of minorities in Pakistan" and he called it a "penance for his crimes".
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Muhammad Khurshid Khan shines the shoes of Sikh devotees at a shrine in India. Photo: AFP
Back home, however, his acts of service did not go down well with conservatives.
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The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) issued him a show-cause notice for ''defaming'' Pakistan abroad.
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However, the notice was never delivered to Khan, following strong criticism from liberal lawyers.
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Pakistan’s Attorney General Irfan Qadir also confirmed that Khan had been replaced with Shah. However, he did not cite any reason for Khan’s removal from the post.
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"DAG is not a permanent post. It is assigned for three years," Qadir said.
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Khan, however, has not completed his three-year term. According to Khan, he had assumed the charge in September 2010 and his stint should have expired in September 2013, the paper said.
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Khan, a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) loyalist, gave another reason for his sacking.
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"I have been punished for my struggle against corruption and for challenging Dewaan-e-Khaas, a restaurant allegedly built on public property by Awami National Party activists," he said, claiming that an ANP activist had threatened him to withdraw his petition against the restaurant or else he would be fired.u00a0
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"Now, (after sacking) I have been released from the golden cage. I will continue to fight against corruption," he added.
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Khan is currently in Kathmandu for a service pilgrimage. He has cut short his planned tour of Bhutan and Tibet and will return to Pakistan on Thursday.
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