LAHORE: On the advice of the prime minister, President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday appointed Engineer Shaukatullah Khan as new governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, replacing Barrister Masood Kausar, DawnNews reported.

The newly appointed governor, previously holding the portfolio of Federal Minister for States and Frontier Region, met the president along with Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Friday.

Sources told DawnNews that Kausar was replaced due to his ill-health.

Barrister Kausar was appointed governor by the president on Feb 8, 2011, bringing to an end the three-year-long tenure of Owais Ahmad Ghani, who oversaw the army launching a series of military operations in the militancy-infested Fata, including the militants’ stronghold of South Waziristan.

Engineer Shaukatullah belongs to a small town, Nawagai, in Bajaur agency. His father, Haji Bismillah Khan, was elected as a MNA twice from his native town. His brother, Inayatullah, is a senator.

The new KP governor was elected as a member of the National Assembly from NA-43 Nawagai.

The chief justice Peshawar High Court is expected to take his oath tomorrow at 4 pm in governor house Peshawar.