PESHAWAR, Nov 4: Differences persist between the NWFP Law Department and Advocate General office over the recent appointments of deputy advocate generals.
It is reliably learnt that some last minute changes in the appointments were made before issuance of the concerned notification without taking the advocate general, NWFP, Qazi Rasheedul Haq, into confidence.
Since the NWFP government is without any law minister for the last about two years, therefore, the law departments has been pulling all the strings and guiding the governor about legal affairs.
Although advocate general’s post is constitutional, but during the present government some elements have been trying to make the post subservient to the law department, due to which successive advocate generals have been finding it hard to independently perform their duties.
After the provincial cabinet was installed by the present military regime in 1999, the then law minister Justice (Retd) Ali Ahmad Qazalbash resigned from his post, apparently on the ground that he was facing hurdles in performance of his duties especially from the law department.
For the last about one year the posts of four additional advocate generals and two deputy advocate generals were lying vacant. Through a notification on Friday, the four posts of additional advocate generals were filled through appointing advocates Hamid Farooq Durrani, Waris Khan, Sardar Shoukat Hayat and Mussarat Hillali. Similarly, another notification was issued for appointing Akhter Naveed and Roohul Ameen as deputy advocate generals.
Government circles confided that for the posts of deputy advocate generals name of Ali Jamil Qazi was on top of the list. The advocate general had agreed on that list and even the chief justice of the high court had endorsed those names. The NWFP governor had reportedly approved a summary carrying those names. However, at the eleventh hour the names were changed and Ali Jamil Qazi was dropped.
It is learnt that the law department is now interested in appointment of advocate Ahmad Jan, belonging to Malakand division, the native area of the law secretary. Although, Roohul Ameen has been appointed as deputy advocate general, but the law department has asked the advocate general not to give him charge, a government source informed. He claimed that the department had given it in written to the advocate general, which was surprising for many.
In the past the advocate general used to select his team with the approval of the governor and even the chief justice of the high court was consulted. However, this time the procedure was changed and earlier a committee was constituted for conducting interviews of senior lawyers over which most of the competent advocates objected. The previous advocate general, Younas Tanoli had even objections over the way the law department was handling the issue.
