Shaky alliance JI has reservations over AG’s appointment

JI had earlier conveyed its reservations over considering Yousafzai for the post, but their concerns were not heard.

PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami’s (JI) provincial amir Professor Mohammad Ibrahim Khan has said the recent appointment of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Advocate General Abdul Latif Yousafzai is not acceptable to his party.

Yousafzai was appointed to defend the government in court by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak on Wednesday. Later the same day, JI’s provincial headquarters issued a statement saying the chief minister did not take the party, which is a coalition partner in the government, into confidence before making the appointment. “This decision by the chief minister has deeply saddened us,” read the handout. It claimed JI had earlier conveyed its reservations over considering Yousafzai for the post, but their concerns were not taken into account. JI’s spokesperson, however, refused to elaborate on the nature of the party’s reservations. The chief minister’s spokesperson, Shiraz Paracha, also remained tight-lipped: “Only PTI officials can comment on such issues.” The two leading coalition partners in the K-P government have had a shaky relationship since their tussle over the education ministry portfolio.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 6^th, 2013.