PESHAWAR, July 7: NWFP Governor Khalilur Rehman on Thursday appointed Younas Tanoli as the new advocate general of the province. Mr Tanoli, hailing from Abbotabad, has previously served in the same position between November 1999 and October 2001. Official sources said that Mr Tanoli’s appointment was made in consultation with the provincial Chief Minister, Akram Khan Durrani, under Article 140 of the constitution.

Mr Tanoli has replaced Mr Hamid Farooq Durrani who quit the post last month after serving as advocate general for just a week.

The appointment of Mr Farooq on June 3 had created a controversy as the chief minister claimed that his name was not included in the summary sent by the NWFP government to the governor.

Mr Akram Durrani had even asked Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to intervene in the matter.

The provincial government said that it had not questioned the competence of Mr Hamid Farooq but had only expressed dissatisfaction over the procedure adopted by the governor in naming him advocate general.

In a bid to end the controversy, Mr Farooq quit as advocate general after serving for just one week. The provincial governor accepted his resignation on Wednesday.