K & P

K-P appoints 26 new law officers

Senior lawyers criticise govt for ignoring them

Our Correspondent July 03, 2018

Senior lawyers of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) have claimed that some ‘new faces’ have been appointed. PHOTO: FILE.

PESHAWAR: The interim provincial government on Monday appointed 26 law officers, including 14 additional advocate generals and 12 assistant advocate generals, on contract basis.

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However, the move has been criticised by senior lawyers who claim to have been ignored.

The provincial law, parliamentary affairs and human rights department had issued two separate notifications regarding the appointments under the K-P Law Officers Act 2014.

Those appointed as assistant advocate generals (AAGs) include Adnan Khattak, Khalid Anwar, Kamran Murtaza, Rafiq Muhammad, Alamzeb Khattak, Khwaja Salahuddin, Ziaur Rehman, Hafiz Iftikhar Ahmad, Kiran Ayub Tanoli, Muhammad Shoaib Khan, Saifur Rahman and Humayun Ali Khan.

The additional advocate general appointed include Ijaz Muhammad, Naveed Akhtar, Muhammad Akbar Khan, Malik Haroon Iqbal, Mujahid Khan, Yousaf Ali, Danyal Khan, Sardar Shaukat Hayat, Zahidul Haq, Raza Uddin and Hamidullah Shah.

Of those appointed, only one was a woman, AAG Tanoli.

“The appointment of law officers is usually made from amongst the senior-most lawyers of the province,” claimed a lawyer while speaking to The Express Tribune on Monday while wishing to remain anonymous.

Senior lawyers of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) have claimed that some ‘new faces’ have been appointed while senior lawyers have been ignored in the appointments.

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They added that additional advocate general Danyal is the son of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) interim law minister Asadullah Khan Chamkani is also among the new additional advocate generals appointed.

“A junior lawyer, who is the son of the interim law minister, is also among the newly appointed law officers of the province,” the lawyer claimed.

Another lawyer stated that the newly appointed cohort includes a number of new faces who do not have the requisite experience to be appointed as law officers.

“The post of a law officer is a post of high responsibility, therefore, it should not be filled on the basis of favouritism and personal relationships,” the lawyer contended.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2018.