0
ISLAMABAD: The government has filed its reply in the Supreme Court on a petition filed by the Leader of the Opposition, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, against the appointment of NAB chairman Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari.
“The petition was jointly drafted by the attorney general and a deputy attorney general,” a NAB official told Dawn on Friday.
“The NAB’s legal team was not consulted and the reply was drafted by the attorney general and the deputy attorney general.”
Although the Supreme Court has accepted the petition of the leader of the opposition for trial, no date has been fixed for hearing of the case so far.
The official said the government had pleaded in the reply that all constitutional and legal requirements had been fulfilled in the appointment of Admiral Bokhari, including consultation with the leader of opposition.
The former chief of Pakistan Navy, Admiral (retd) Bokhari, was notified as the chairman of NAB on Oct 15 despite objections raised by the PML-N that legal process required by the Constitution had not been followed.
At the time of appointment of NAB chief, Chaudhry Nisar had written a letter to President Asif Ali Zardari which said: “Mr President, if the objective of the entire exercise is to select a nominee with impeccable reputation, integrity and credibility and unquestionable impartiality, there is no reason whatsoever for hesitation on the part of the government to engage with the opposition in a thorough, concrete and meaningful consultation.”
He filed the petition in the Supreme Court on Oct 21 challenging the appointment of Admiral Bokhari as NAB chairman. In his petition, Chaudhry Nisar urged the Supreme Court to stop Admiral Bokhari from attending his office, pleading that President Zardari had appointed the former Navy chief without completing the consultation process.
However, the apex court did not stop Admiral Bokhari from working as NAB chief and Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, in an observation during the Pakistan Railways case on Thursday, said the case should be sent to NAB. He was of the view that the case would help ascertain the credibility of NAB chairman.
“We have seen the work of FIA and will now call NAB chairman to ascertain what credibility he enjoys,” the chief justice said.
