PESHAWAR, Sept 22: The federal government on Monday appointed two senior advocates affiliated with the Pakistan People’s Party as deputy attorneys general (DAGs).

According to a notification issued by the federal law division, advocates Mohammad Iqbal Mohmand and Muzamil Khan replaced Salahuddin Khan and Roohul Ameen, who had been appointed as deputy attorneys-general during the tenure of Pervez Musharraf.

The government also appointed Fareedullah Khan Kundi as standing counsel in the DAG’s office. The DAGs and the standing counsel would represent the federal government in the Peshawar High Court.

Mr Mohmand has remained president of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association and the Peshawar District bar Association. He is provincial vice-president of the People’s Lawyers Forum (PLF).

Mr Muzamil had been appointed as additional advocate-general by the NWFP government on Aug 2.

It is learnt that there is resentment among active members of the PLF who say that lawyers who had rendered sacrifices for the party had been ignored in the appointments.

A senior member of the forum, Gulab Shah, said the forum had not been taken into confidence in these appointments. He added that different lawyers had served prison terms for the party, but they had been left out in the appointments.

Ever since the ANP-PPP coalition formed government in the province, lawyers affiliated with the two parties remained engaged in manoeuvring for occupying lucrative slots in the advocate-general’s office and the DAG’s office.

The NWFP advocate-general and seven additional and deputy advocates-general having ties with the Awami National Party had been appointed by the provincial government in April.

Former president of Peshawar High Court Bar Association Ziaur Rehman Khan, had been appointed as advocate-general and Qaiser Rasheed, Ikramullah Khan and Ishtiaq Ibrahim as additional advocates-general. Four deputy advocates-general, Abbas Khan Sangeen, Barrister Waqar, Alamgir Durrani and Sanaullah Shamim Ghandapur, had also been appointed. Another deputy advocate-general, Sardar Ali Raza, had been appointed by the previous government.

When the PLF members expressed resentment over the appointments, Muzamil Khan and Zahid Shah, both affiliated with the PPP, were appointed as additional advocates-general in August.