PESHAWAR, April 19: The NWFP governor on Saturday appointed former Peshawar High Court Bar Association president Ziaur Rehman Khan as the advocate-general.

A notification in this regard issued by the provincial law department was presented to Ziaur Rehman by provincial Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Arshid Abdullah at a reception held at his office.

The minister expressed the hope that the newly-appointed advocate-general and additional and deputy advocates-general would work for safeguarding interests of the province before different courts, including the Supreme Court and the Peshawar High Court. The reception was also attended by other additional and deputy advocates-general.

The post of the advocate-general had fallen vacant after Pir Liaqat Ali resigned on April 3. Mr Liaqat had been appointed advocate-general during the government of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal on May 24, 2006.

Ziaur Rehman was a key leader of the Malgary Wakeelan, a lawyers’ forum affiliated with the Awami National Party and has remained a class fellow of ANP president Asfandyar Wali Khan. Among legal circles, he is considered well-versed in civil law.

He was appointed assistant advocate-general in 1997. He remained a member of the NWFP Bar Council for 15 years and also served as its vice-chairman in 2000.

A controversy has been going on between members of the People’s Lawyers Forum (PLF), affiliated with the Pakistan People’s Party, and the Malgary Wakeelan over the issue of appointment of advocate-general and additional and deputy advocates-general.

According to the PLF, all eight lawyers appointed recently by the provincial government against the key posts in the AG’s office belonged to the Malgary Wakeelan which was injustice to the PLF because the PPP was a coalition partner in the provincial government.

They demand 50 percent share in the posts. The Malgary Wakelan has reportedly offered them to adjust two of their members as additional advocates-general because the rest of the posts had been filled.