The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has decided to extend the tenure of the current National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chief.
Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal was appointed during the tenure of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government; his tenure was supposed to end on October 8 this year.
According to sources, PM Imran Khan presided a high-level meeting today wherein this decision was made. Prime Minister Imran Khan also accepted the suggestion put forward by Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan regarding amendments in the National Accountability Ordinance 1999.
It has been decided that a new NAB chairperson will be appointed with the consultation of Shehbaz Sharif, the opposition leader in the National Assembly.
The PM has also agreed with the AGP’s suggestion that the power to remove the NAB chief should rest with the Supreme Judicial Council instead of the President.
In this regard, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry announced that an ordinance regarding amendments in the NAO will be promulgated tomorrow, on Wednesday.
However, the current government will not bring amendments to NAO for structuring the NAB chairman’s power of arrest.
Earlier, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto had said that his party would “forcefully oppose” the “illegal extension” in the tenure of the NAB chief.
Bilawal maintained that the law specifies that the tenure may not be extended. He added that even if an extension was attempted for the incumbent NAB chairperson, it would prove his party’s position that NAB is “an extension” of the PTI government and “not impartial”.
Federal Minister for Law and Justice Barrister Farogh Naseem on Tuesday stated that the federal government has decided to consult Leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif on the nomination of the next National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman.
“Government has decided to consult with Shehbaz Sharif over next NAB chief appointment as per the law,” said Naseem, adding that no contact has been made with the opposition leader so far over the NAB chairman appointment.
Farogh further said the law ministry has finalised the draft for National Accountability Bureau (amendment) ordinance on directions of PM Imran Khan, adding that the clause of consultation with Leader of the Opposition has been included in the newly amended NAB Ordinance-1999.
“The newly amended NAB ordinance has been prepared according to law,” he said, adding that “the terms [non-extendable] has been substituted with the word [extendable] in the section mentioned to give the NAB chairman an extension”.
“The sitting NAB chairman will continue to serve until the appointment of new anti-graft watchdog chief,” he added.
Earlier on Tuesday, Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan also stated that the National
Accountability Bureau (amendment) ordinance would be issued on Wednesday.
It is pertinent to note that the opposition is determined to boycott the extension.
Sources privy to this development stated that Law Minister Farogh Naseem was advised by the premier to prepare a draft for the presidential ordinance.
“The Final draft is with the PM Imran at the moment and will be presented to the President Arif Alvi in the coming days after receiving a go-ahead from the premier Imran Khan,” sources said.
The sources said that the summary (of the draft) sent to the premier had put all the relevant propositions before the PM Imran Khan and it not only confined itself to grant an
extension but had also suggested a legal case against such a move.
They added that in case the premier reaches the final decision to extend Justice (Retd) Iqbal’s tenure, the ministry will prepare a draft to amend the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) and send it to President Alvi for approval.
“As after the promulgation this would become a law, enabling the federal government to give an extension to accountability watchdog chief,” they said.
Sources added that the draft sent to the premier suggested that the term ‘non-extendable’ may be replaced with the term ‘extendable’ in the section 6 of the NAO to give extension to accountability watchdog.
Interestingly, Law Minister Farogh Naseem had earlier rejected that his ministry did not prepare or finalise the draft for NAB Chief’s extension.
“It was the premier prerogative to choose a person for the office of accountability watchdog chairman and I (Naseem) could only give my advice on the issue,” he said.
He said that PM Imran will consider more than one name for the office of anti-corruption watchdog chief and will choose whoever he deems fit for the job.
Currently, according to the law under section 6b(i) of NAO, the NAB Chairman is appointed by the president in consultation with the leader of the house and the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly.
But the PTI government is of the opinion that the extension is possible and for that consultation is not mandatory with the Opposition Leader in the National Assembly.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Fawad Chauhdry, speaking on this issue said that the federal government will not consult Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif over the appointment of accountability watchdog’s new chief.
“If we consult Shehbaz it would be like asking a suspect who their interrogating officer should be,” Chaudhry said.
Advisor to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan stated that law requires consultation with the opposition leader only when a new chairman is appointed and not in case of an extension because there is a difference between a new appointment and an extension.
“The consultation with Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif is not possible because he was an accused in NAB cases,” he said.
While declaring the current NAB Chairman as the most controversial in the country’s history, Bilawal tweeted, “Even attempting an extension, for the most controversial chairman in history, would serve to prove our argument that NAB is an extension of IK’s government and not impartial.”
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Senior Vice President Maryam Nawaz was of the opinion that the government wants to keep the opposition out on NAB chief’s appointment issue as they will be indulging in nepotism in the matter, a reference to a recent appointment of federal information minister Fawad Chaudhry’s brother Faisal Chaudhry to a senior position in the prosecution wing of the accountability watchdog.
Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry revealed on late Tuesday that the government has finalised the draft for the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman’s appointment, which will remove the “legal laguna” of consulting with the Opposition on picking a new chief or extending the incumbent’s tenure.
The minister, addressing a post-cabinet press conference in Islamabad, said the new ordinance would empower the accountability courts, as the government wants to strengthen the systems, and not an individual.
The information minister said it would have been better had the Opposition proposed a name, but unfortunately, they could not do so. He reiterated that the government would not hold talks with Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif, as he was a suspect in a NAB case.
“Opposition should now start searching for a new Opposition leader,” Chaudhry concluded by adding that the matter related to the NAB chairman did not come under discussion during the federal cabinet’s meeting.
