Noroz Khan, an assistant attorney general, was de-notified by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government after a controversy over a Peshawar High Court hearing of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf central leader Mohammad Atif Khan’s plea.
The secretary law department announced that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister had de-notified/dispensed with additional advocate general Noroz Khan under section 3(2) of the KP Appointment of Law Officers Act.
The controversy arose amid rumors of internal rifts in Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, particularly between Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur and Mohammad Atif Khan.
Last year, the KP anti-corruption establishment summoned Mr. Atif to testify over Malam Jabba property leasing and Mardan private housing society anomalies.
Mr. Atif disputed the call-up notice in Peshawar High Court, which gave him interim relief on December 10, 2024, and suspended it.
Justices Mohammad Naeem Anwar and Farah Jamshed delayed the petition on March 12, raising the issue.
The bench ordered, “learned counsel for the petitioner as well as learned AAG (additional advocate general) seek time as there is prospect of compromise between the parties”.
Mr. Atif’s stay order was likewise extended by the bench.
Official sources claimed Mr. Noroz’s court order had angered the government since there was no compromise.
Shah Faisal Uthmankhel, KP advocate general, demanded an answer.
Mr. Noroz replied that the petitioner uses the phrase ‘compromise’ in the proceedings, not him.
He was ready to argue in the instant petition, but the petitioner’s attorney requested an adjournment based on a possibility of compromise, which the court granted.
He denied ever supporting the petitioner in court or outside of it. “The undersigned is fully aware of his constitutional role as additional advocate general,” he said.
Official sources stated Mr. Noroz was de-notified after declining to quit.
Qazi Mohammad Anwar, provincial president of Insaf attorneys Forum, the attorneys’ arm of PTI, also posted an audio message on social media informing Mr. Noroz of president Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s disapproval with the case hearing.
Mr Noroz also allegedly told Mr Atif that Mr Anwar and the advocate general had asked him to resign in another audio message.
He requests that Mr. Atif call Mr. Anwar and the AG to inquire why Noroz is being targeted since he has been punished because of him.
In his appeal, Mr. Atif asked the high court to dismiss the notice and declare illegal all acts conducted in response, including inquiries and investigations.
