Legal matters: Abdul Latif Yousafzai appointed K-P’s Advocate General

Pledges to closely coordinate with courts to ensure timely resolution.

PESHAWAR:

Following the resignation of Khalid Khan, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government appointed senior advocate Abdul Latif Yousafzai as the Advocate General (AG) through a notification issued by the Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights Department on Wednesday.

Yousafzai will represent the province in all cases related to the government. The appointment has been made by K-P Governor Shaukatullah Khan.

“The provincial government and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman want to eliminate all chances of corruption from the province. It will be my top priority to coordinate closely with courts so that cases are not prolonged,” Yousafzai said while talking to journalists at his office inside the Peshawar High Court (PHC) premises.

The top leadership of the province and ruling party want to establish peace in the region so residents of the war-torn province may live without fear. Yousafzai added the government also wanted to stop corrupt practices and give exemplary punishment to those found guilty.

“I will try my best to ensure there are no delays from provincial government departments in proceedings of cases. The incumbent government wants to make K-P a role model for the country.”

A seasoned officer

Abdul Latif Yousafzai has around 40 years of experience as a legal consultant. He started his career on March 30, 1974 and on July 12, 1981 was enrolled as an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. On December 5, 2009, he was promoted to senior advocate of the
apex court.

Yousafzai has dealt with cases of all nature, including criminal, banking and commercial labour. From 1986 to 1991, he served as special prosecutor (anti-narcotics) and legal adviser to the custom and income tax departments.

He remained the deputy attorney general of Pakistan at Peshawar from October 25, 1992 till January 1, 1994. He was also deputy prosecutor general of the National Accountability Bureau Peshawar from December 1999 to September 2000. Furthermore, the new AG served as the provincial vice president of the Supreme Court Bar Association from 2003 to 2004.

Through another notification, the provincial government has appointed Mujahid Ali Khan as Deputy Advocate General and Mian Arshad Jan as Additional Advocate General on a contractual basis. They will not be allowed private practice or legal advisership of any kind, and will not be paid any fee for the opinion work of the K-P government assigned to them by the law department. Their appointment is liable to be terminated at any time without any prior reason or notice.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2013.