ISLAMABAD: Aftab Sultan, a former director-general of the Intelligence Bureau, was Thursday appointed chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for a “non-extendable period of three years”, the notification of his appointment said.
According to Geo News, approval for Sultan’s appointment was given in a meeting of the federal cabinet “after consultation between [the prime minister] and Leader of the Opposition” Raja Riaz Ahmad, a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) turncoat.
Aftab Sultan appointed new Chairman NAB for 3 years pic.twitter.com/TRHBgx4dhh
— Muhammad Bilal (@Bilal81) July 21, 2022
Members of the ruling coalition are understood to have opposed the appointment, however, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) held a series of consultations and they finally agreed on his appointment.
Sultan, who belongs to the fourth police common, has thrice served as the IB chief, most recently in 2018, and remained head of Punjab police between April and May 2013.
In February 2018, Imran Khan, chairman of the PTI, accused Sultan of assisting the PML-N in selecting its candidates for the general elections.
Sultan, Khan had said, was a member of the Sharif family’s “gang”, which was why he had been given an extension of service for a third time. He alleged the IB chief had been told by the PML-N leadership to “minutely observe” which PML-N candidate could win their constituencies.
Interestingly, Sultan himself is a suspect in a reference NAB approved in 2020 against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for allegedly illegal purchase of 73 high-security vehicles for the security of foreign dignitaries.
The suspects are accused of favouritism and illegal use of vehicles, causing a loss of over Rs1,952 million to the national exchequer.
The post of NAB chairman was lying vacant since last month after then-chief retired Justice Javed Iqbal relinquished charge of his office on June 2 on expiry of the ordinance through which he was given an extension till the appointment of his successor.
