PESHAWAR, July 17: The NWFP law department has withdrawn the appointments of all special government pleaders at each station in the province.

Through an order issued by the secretary law department on July 15, all the government pleaders and additional government pleaders have been directed to personally deal with the government cases in the civil courts of their jurisdiction.

Previously, apart from permanent government pleaders, lawyers were appointed in individual civil cases as special government pleaders.

During the last two weeks the provincial law department had issued three different orders, creating confusion and uncertainty among the government pleaders. It was expected during the last couple of weeks that like rest of the three provinces the prosecution department would be placed under the supervision of the provincial home department.

The prosecution department worked under the supervision of law department, but on July 6 an order was issued by the law department, stating that the government pleaders would only represent the government in civil cases, whereas public prosecutors would function under the home department and represent the government in criminal cases.

As the government pleaders also represent the government in criminal cases as public prosecutors, therefore they were confused whether they would function under the law or the home department. Even some of the lawyers pointed out this issue before different courts, stating that after the notification government pleaders could not appear as public prosecutors.

Realising its mistake, the law department issued another order to substitute its earlier order, stating that the government pleaders should continue to function as public prosecutors till criminal work is taken up by the public prosecutors under the home department.

Another order was issued on July 15 whereby the appointment of special government pleaders was withdrawn. That notification was based on the presumed “separation of prosecution from the civil work,” whereas till now no such notification or order has been issued through which prosecution has been separated from civil work.

An official of the home department said that they were also ignorant about any such notification, but they found a reference of it in the order of the law department. “In fact the successive orders issued by the law department have confused us and we don’t know whether the government pleaders functioning as prosecutors will be under our supervision or that of law department,” the official claimed.