How the mighty fall. Once, he was feared across the land and beyond. By the corrupt and non-corrupt alike, because former NAB Chairman Mr Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal didn’t seem to quite appreciate the distinction between the two. Now, he has been reduced to petitioning for stay orders from the courts against the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee’s recommendation for him to be removed from the chair of the missing persons commission.
It remains to be seen what decision the courts take on this petition filed by their former brother justice. The PAC, led by Noor Alam Khan, had recommended his removal from the position. He had done so upon the application last month by one Ms Tayyaba Gul, who had alleged that the former NAB chairman had tried to have illicit relations with her in exchange for lenient treatment of her husband, who was under NAB investigation. It is a sad state of affairs that she had already released an incriminating video with him way back in 2019, yet it didn’t seem to have any effect on his position.
He wants to retain his position on the missing persons commission. His performance on that body has been appallingly inadequate. For a moment, if we were to forget the former judge’s personal integrity: that he was given that position in addition to the highly demanding job at NAB is a comment on how little importance the government gives to the issue of missing persons.
In one of his handful of media appearances before the blanket media ban on members of the PTM, Manzoor Pashteen had once recounted an incident involving the wife of a missing person who had gone to the commission, seeking justice. Javed Iqbal had, allegedly, told her that she was so beautiful, she could get another husband.
That Javed Iqbal wants to retain his job at the missing persons commission.
