ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said that if the government does not have confidence over the probe of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) then who else would have it.

He said this during the hearing of Rental Power Projects (RPP) case while heading a three-judge bench on Monday.

During the course of proceeding, the CJ questioned the counsel for the prime minister that if the government was showing distrust over NAB then who else would repose confidence on it.

On this, the counsel for the PM, Waseem Sajjad replied that the government was not showing lack of trust over NAB, adding that being the government institution, NAB's probe into the matter could be presumed as in favour of the premier.

He further stated that is why Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has sought for a judicial inquiry into the matter.

PM Raja Pervez Ashraf, who is among those accused in the RPPs case, had written a letter to the Supreme Court requesting it to form a judicial commission to look into the case on Friday.

Justice Gulzar, during today’s proceedings, said NAB is a government department, thus the government should show confidence on it.

Waseem Sajjad stated that there was no doubt that the NAB was a neutral department, however the media was raising so many questions on it these days.

The court also made the PM's letter part of the RPP case, however on the question of judicial inquiry, the court remarked that earlier the counsel for the PM withdrew petition then how could he ask for a judicial inquiry.

The PM's counsel replied that the court has the power to carry out judicial inquiry into any matter.

The bench questioned him to quote any legal point to support his argument, upon which Waseem Sajjad gave the example of Dr Arslan Iftikhar where the court ordered for a judicial inquiry.

The bench remarked that the two cases were entirely different so the counsel could not give any such example.

The apex court on Jan 15 had ordered the arrest of 16 persons, including the premier, and directed the authorities to present them in the court.

Later, the court issued notices to Faisal Saleh Hayat and Khawaja Muhammad Asif, the petitioners for appearing in the next hearing and adjourned the hearing to March 18.