New opportunities: Arbab Muhammad Arif posted as registrar of SCP

Was relieved of duties as secretary for home and tribal affairs

PESHAWAR: Arbab Muhammad Arif was relieved of his duties as the secretary for home and tribal affairs on Thursday. He has been posted as the registrar of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

He is the second person from the province to occupy such an important office in recent years. Earlier, this position was held by Dr Faqir Hussain, former principal of Khyber Law College, University of Peshawar.

Arif has previously served as the additional chief secretary for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), commissioner for Peshawar Division, and political agent for Khyber, Mohmand, Bajaur and South Waziristan agencies among other posts.

The office of the secretary for home and tribal affairs is lying vacant, with Additional Home Secretary Siraj Ahmad Khan assuming office as the acting in charge. However, a number of other senior officers are eying the seat. These include Education Secretary Afzal Latif, Secretary for Transport Ahmad Hanif Orakzai, Dr Fida Muhammad Wazir and Muhammad Faheem Wazir. Both Fida and Faheem Wazir are serving important offices in the FATA Secretariat.

Duties of the registrar in the Supreme Court of Pakistan include assisting the chief justice on administrative affairs as well as serve as the liaison between the court and the government. Similarly, Arif will also help the chief justice handle administrative issues of high courts and other judicial institutions.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2016.