Asad Rahim Khan is a partner at Ashtar Ali LLP, where he focuses on constitutional law, commercial litigation, and international arbitration. He has been appointed amicus curiae by the Lahore High Court on constitutional matters, and has acted for Pakistan before the ICC International Court of Arbitration and Permanent Court of Arbitration.
He previously represented the Office of the Attorney-General, where he helped draft the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, merging the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He was also part of the federation’s team before the Supreme Court of Pakistan in the Panama Papers, lifetime disqualification, and dissident voter cases, as well as the Supreme Judicial Council.
Internationally, Asad successfully advised Pakistan as local counsel in its $500 million investor-state dispute with al-Tuwairqi Group of Companies before the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, Netherlands; all claims against Pakistan were dismissed in 2023. He also represented Punjab’s local government seeking to serve out its complete tenure after being unlawfully dissolved. In 2020, he was included in the Prime Minister’s Working Group of Experts on international investment treaty reforms.
He is currently an adjunct faculty member of the Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, where he teaches constitutional law. He is also an op-ed columnist for Dawn; his writing has appeared in Herald, Newsline, and the Express Tribune.
He holds an LLB (Hons.) from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and was called to the bar at Lincoln’s Inn. Before entering practice, he clerked for Justices Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Ijaz-ul-Ahsan at the Lahore High Court.
Reported Judgments
1. Northern Bottling v. Federation of Pakistan
2015 PTD 231 | Peshawar High Court
Hon. Afridi J: Capacity tax
2. Said Zaman Khan v. Federation of Pakistan
2017 SCMR 1249 | Supreme Court of Pakistan
Hon. Azmat J: Terrorism
3. Imran Khan v. Nawaz Sharif
PLD 2017 SC 265 (20 April) PLD 2017 SC 692 (28 July) | Supreme Court of Pakistan
Hon. Ejaz Afzal J: Panama Papers
4. Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta v. Federation of Pakistan
PLD 2018 SC 370 | Supreme Court of Pakistan
Hon. Saqib CJ: Party heads case
5. Sami Ullah Baloch v. Abdul Karim Nousherwani
PLD 2018 SC 405 | Supreme Court of Pakistan
Hon. Bandial J: Lifetime disqualification case
6. Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui v. Federation of Pakistan
PLD 2018 SC 538 | Supreme Court of Pakistan
Hon. Azmat J: Supreme Judicial Council proceedings
7. Sughran Bibi v. The State
PLD 2018 SC 595 | Supreme Court of Pakistan
Hon. Khosa J: Criminal investigation
8. Speaker National Assembly v. Habib Akram
PLD 2018 SC 678 | Supreme Court of Pakistan
Order of the Court: Electoral nomination forms
9. Suo Motu Re: Contempt Proceedings Against State Minister for Interior
PLD 2018 SC 773 | Supreme Court of Pakistan
Hon. Gulzar J: Contempt
10. Farhat Javed Siddique v. Government of Pakistan
PLD 2018 SC 788 | Supreme Court of Pakistan
Hon. Saqib CJ: Voting for overseas Pakistanis
11. Ali Anwar Gopang v. Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui
PLD 2018 SC 845 | Supreme Judicial Council
Hon. Saqib CJ: In-camera proceedings
12. Zafarullah Khan v. Federation of Pakistan
2018 SCMR 2001 | Supreme Court of Pakistan
Hon. Saqib CJ: Dam judgment
13. Bahria Town v. Government of Punjab
2018 SCMR 1864 | Supreme Court of Pakistan
Hon. Ejaz Afzal J: Encroachment on forestland
14. Pakistan Medical and Dental Council v. Muhammad Fahad Malik
2018 SCMR 1956 | Supreme Court of Pakistan
Hon. Saqib CJ: Validity of PMDC Ordinance, 1962
15. Re: Appointment of Managing Director, Pakistan Television Corporation
2019 SCMR 1 | Supreme Court of Pakistan
Hon. Saqib CJ: Illegal appointments
16. Sohail Ahmed Ghauri v. The State
2020 MLD 1873 | Lahore High Court
Hon. Shahid Abbasi J: Bail
17. Allied Distributors v. Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
PLJ 2020 Peshawar (Note) 188 | Peshawar High Court
Hon. Qaiser J: Maintainability; institution of suit; tender
18. Mubashar Javed v. Province of Punjab
PLD 2022 Lahore 817 | Lahore High Court
Hon. Jawad Hassan J: Tenure of restored local governments
19. Abdul Saboor v. Federation of Pakistan
2023 PTD 1434 | Lahore High Court
Hon. Shams J: Tax; powers of Inland Revenue Directorate
20. Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan v. Federation of Pakistan
PLD 2023 SC 42 | Supreme Court of Pakistan
Hon. Munib J: Article 63A judgment; defection of parliamentarians
21. Osman Gul v. Federation of Pakistan
2023 LHC 1548 | Lahore High Court
Hon. Jamil J: Income tax on property