PESHAWAR, Oct 31: Delay in the appointment of director-general prosecution by the provincial government is affecting the performance of the prosecution service in the province.

Sources said that although the home department had recommended names for the appointment as director-general and legal director, the establishment department had yet to take a decision.

NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah had promulgated the NWFP Prosecution Service (Constitution, Functions and Powers) Ordinance, 2004, on Aug 25. The promulgation of the ordinance was part of the Asian Development Bank-funded Access to Justice Programme (AJP).

Under the ordinance, the government is required to establish a prosecution institute, which should include a directorate of prosecution. The law envisages that the directorate should be headed by a director-general of prosecution under the administrative control of the government.

The director-general should be assisted by regional directors, deputy directors, assistant directors, district public prosecutors, public prosecutors, etc. An officer in grade 19 or 20 could be appointed director-general prosecution.

The sources said that according to definitions in the ordinance, director-general prosecution means chief prosecutor of the province responsible for the management of prosecution and control over prosecutors.

An official said that reforms in the prosecution service were going on at a snail's pace due to the differences between the home and law departments over keeping the prosecution service under its supervision.

He said it took the provincial government two years to promulgate the ordinance. At present, it was unclear when important functionaries of the directorate would be appointed.

The constitutional life of the present ordinance under Article 128 of the Constitution is three months which would expire on Nov 24. It is learnt that a summary for making the ordinance an act of the provincial assembly has been sent to the law department for vetting.

It is learnt that a committee headed by Additional Secretary (coordination) Home Department, Azam Khan, has also prepared rules under the ordinance and that too have been sent to the law department for vetting following which it would be notified.

Legal circles said since wide-ranging powers in criminal cases have been given to the prosecution service, it is necessary to appoint the director general at the earliest so that the directorate could perform its functions as mentioned in the law.

Moreover, they added, relevant rules should also be notified so as to clarify ambiguities faced by the prosecutors.

Under the ordinance, public prosecutors are empowered to lodge a case before a competent court for trial after receiving the final report. Moreover, they are also empowered to withhold the case for want of proper evidence and return it to the investigation officer with a written direction to resubmit the report after removal of the deficiencies identified by them.

The law also empowers a district public prosecutor in case of offences carrying seven years or less imprisonment and the director-general for all other offences to withdraw from prosecution, subject to prior approval of the government.

However, only the home secretary is empowered to withdraw from prosecution an offence falling under the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997.