LAHORE, Jan 7: The opposition raised the issue of the appointment of advisers during the morning session of the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday. PPP's Rana Aftab on a point of order said that there was no provision in the 1973 Constitution for appointing any adviser.

He asked the treasury benches to clarify whether a person who had been convicted by the Supreme Court and disqualified for contesting elections could be appointed an adviser.

Law minister Raja Basharat replied that the Punjab government had made all appointments of advisers according to the relevant laws. Recalling that each government after 1985 polls had been making such appointments, he reminded Rana Aftab that it was under the PPP regime when the Wattoo government had appointed even a chief adviser.

He said the provincial government had not appointed any departmental advisers after an apex court's decision in this regard. He, however, offered the opposition members to challenge on an appropriate forum if they found any irregularity in the appointment of advisers.