PESHAWAR, March 12: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday sought comments from the principal secretary to the president, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor and some other officials in a writ petition challenging the appointment of governor Shaukatullah Khan on the ground that he is not a registered voter and resident of the province.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Mrs Irshad Qaiser also put on notice the attorney general for Pakistan and the federal secretaries of cabinet division and law and parliamentary affairs division, asking them to assist the court on whether a tribal person who was not a voter of this province could be appointed as its governor.

It directed the respondents to file their written comments within 25 days.

The petition was filed by advocate Gohar Rehman Khattak challenging the appointment last month of Shaukatullah Khan as illegal and unconstitutional.

Mr Khattak argued that the present governor was appointed by the president under Article 101 of the Constitution. He contended that under Article 101 (2) of the Constitution a person should not be appointed a governor unless he was qualified to be elected as a member of National Assembly, above 35 years of age, a registered voter and resident of the province concerned.

He argued that Mr Shaukatullah belonged to Bajaur Agency and was also elected an MNA from the said agency’s NA-43 constituency in 2008 general election. He contended that the sitting governor had a domicile of Bajaur Agency and his appointment was in clear violation of the Constitution of Pakistan.

Meanwhile, the bench also put on notice the attorney general, the federal government through law secretary and the provincial government, and directed them to file comments within 25 days in a writ petition challenging Article 101 (2) of the Constitution and terming it discriminatory towards the tribal people.

The petition is filed by advocates from tribal areas, Ijaz Mohmand and Taj Mahal Afridi, urging the court to declare Article 101 (2) of the Constitution, amended through the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010, as unconstitutional and against the interest of around 10 million population of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Advocate Wali Khan Afridi appeared for the petitioners and contended that through the 18th amendment dozens of provisions of the constitution were amended including Article 101 (2). He stated that prior to that amendment a citizen from any part of the country could be appointed governor.

He argued that as the prime responsibility of governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was related to tribal areas, therefore it was discriminatory on part of parliament to make the said amendment while ignoring a vast population.

During proceedings the chief justice observed that under the constitution the Fata was part of Pakistan, but the people there had been discriminated which had now been creating a sense of deprivation among them. He observed that it was beyond understanding why a tribal person could not be appointed governor of this province when he had mostly to look after the affairs of tribal areas.

The petitioners contended that under Article 1 of the Constitution the tribal areas were part of Pakistan, but in Article 101 they had been ignored.