Musharraf appoints Khalilur Rehman as new Governor NWFP
Pakistan Times Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The President General Pervez Musharraf has accepted the resignation submitted by the NWFP Governor, Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah.

The President has appointed Khalilur Rehman, presently Deputy Chairman Senate as new Governor of the NWFP.

While accepting the resignation, the President asked the outgoing Governor to continue till assumption of office by his successor.

Syed Iftikhar Hussain is reported to have mentioned personal reasons while submitting his resignation before the President from the office of the governor.

Khalilur Rehman is expected to assume his new responsibilities within next couple of days.

Credible sources say that Commander Khalilur Rehman is scheduled to take oath as NWFP governor on Tuesday, March-15.

Chief Justice Peshawar High Court (PHC) Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk will administer the oath to newly appointed NWFP governor.

The oath-taking ceremony will take place at the Governor’s House, Peshawar.

Services of Iftikhar lauded

Meanwhile, the President has expressed his deep appreciation of the services rendered by the outgoing Governor for socio-economic uplift of the people, especially those in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. He wished the outgoing Governor success in the future.

Amid this development, speculation have turned into reality as Senator Khalilur Rahman has been notified as the new Governor of the NWFP in place of Lt-Gen (Retd) Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah.

A notification said President Pervez Musharraf had accepted the resignation of the outgoing governor and appointed Khalilur Rahman to the post.

Recap

Since March-4 when the news of Governor Iftikhar's resignation first broke out, there were speculations galore that the Senate's Deputy Chairman Khalilur Rahman would be the next Governor of the strategically important province. However, the delay in notifying his appointment fuelled speculation that he might not get the coveted post.

The delay was apparently caused by President Pervez Musharraf's visit to Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and the death of Khalilur Rahman's son Khalid Rahman in the family's adopted country, Bahrain.

Another factor that seems to have upset plans for an orderly change of guard at the Governor's House was the premature publication of the news about the replacement of the governor.

The raison d'être

The delay prompted Salim Saifullah Khan, Khalilur Rahman's party colleague in the ruling PML, to oppose his elevation to the office of Governor. His argument was that the PML would be unable to retain the Senate seat that the new Governor would vacate due to the MMA's majority in the NWFP Assembly, which like other provincial assemblies elects the Senators.

Beside this, he argued that the NWFP would lose the post of deputy chairman Senate, which was the only major constitutional position that the province possessed in the present set-up.

Governor-designate Reax

The NWFP's Governor-designate Khalilur Rahman, who would be administered oath on March-15, has said he was praying to Allah to enable him to deliver in his new job.

He says; he would spare no effort to accomplish the task assigned to him. "I hope that I can do my best. I would need support and cooperation of all concerned," he remarked.

Khalilur Rahman would be replacing Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah, who served as Governor for more than four and a half years. There were reports that the outgoing Governor would be made an ambassador, possibly to Turkey.

The 25th Governor

As Khalilur Rehman assumes his office as the 25th governor of NWFP, the office of Deputy Chairman Senate would stand vacant for which Naseer Mengal, Ayaz Jogezai, Roshin Khurshid and Fozia Fakhruzzaman are being considered as contenders. A seat of the Senate will also stand vacant.●