ISLAMABAD / SUKKUR: The government has appoi­nted retired Justice Javed Iqbal as the new chief of the all-important National Acco­untability Bureau (NAB).

“In exercise of the powers conferred under Section 6(b) of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999, the president… is pleased to appoint retired Justice Javed Iqbal… as chairman NAB… for a non-extendable period of four years,” said the notification issued on Sunday.

The new chairman was chosen from among 12 nominees submitted by the government and opposition parties, and the notification comes two days before incumbent NAB chief Qamar Zaman Chaudhry’s term expires on Oct 10.

The decision was first announced by Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah in an interaction with journalists in Rohri, and was confirmed later in the day when a notification to this effect was issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice.

Mr Shah said that in the current political atmosphere, the post of NAB chairman had become very important for the nation, expressing the hope that Justice Iqbal would serve the country well.

PTI not satisfied with appointment, will announce its reaction after consultations

The opposition leader said that consultations with the government lasted for around 20 days, and that apart from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) also suggested names for the post.

However, the PTI is not happy, and has termed the appointment the result of an underhanded deal between the ruling PML-N and the PPP.

“We were not taken into confidence over the name of retired Justice Javed Iqbal,” PTI vice chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi told Dawn.

He said the PTI leadership would meet on Monday to decide how to proceed on the issue. “We will issue the party’s policy statement on the appointment of NAB chairman on Monday.”

Khursheed Shah said he had seen the profiles of the proposed candidates, adding that he was in telephonic contact with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who had agreed with him on Justice Iqbal’s name.

He said that at a time when everyone was talking about the elimination of corruption from the country, “we need a NAB chairman who has the best track record and reputation; he must not come under pressure from any quarter and must think himself accountable to Almighty Allah and the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him)”.

Mr Shah said that Justice Iqbal had served as a senior judge of the Supreme Court and enjoyed a good reputation, adding that he had done good work as head of the Abbottabad Commission.

Retired Justice Iqbal was one of the judges of superior courts who took a fresh oath under Gen Pervez Musharraf’s controversial Provisional Constitution Order in 1999, which in effect abrogated the country’s Constitution.

Born in 1936, Justice Iqbal has headed two important commissions; the Abbottabad Commission formed to probe the preludes and causes of the US raid in Abbottabad in 2011 that led to the death of Osama bin Laden.

He also headed the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, constituted on the Supreme Court’s orders by the Interior Ministry.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2017