ISLAMABAD, Sept 12: The government and the opposition have reached agreement over a new name proposed by the former for the slot of chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), according to sources.

The name is expected to be disclosed before the Supreme Court on Friday (today).

“We will disclose the name before the Supreme Court,” Information Minister Pervez Rashid told Dawn on Thursday when asked about the person on whose name the two sides had agreed.

The minister said: “Whatever we have decided will be unveiled before the Supreme Court.”

The Supreme Court on September 5 asked the government to appoint NAB chairman by September 13 (Friday).

On his part, the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, Khursheed Shah, told Dawn that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had proposed a new name for the post.

“The government has proposed a new name for the slot and we are hopeful that the government and the opposition will reach consensus by September 16 or 17,” he said.

However, Mr Shah who left for London on Thursday and expected to return to the country on September 17, did not disclose the new name proposed by the government.

“We cannot disclose the new name because Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and I have decided to tell the name to the people when the two sides reach a consensus.” the opposition leader said.

A source close to Mr Shah said the leader of the opposition would return to the country on September 17 and the government had assured him that it would announce the consensus name after his return.

The apex court took serious note that major operations of the NAB have come to a halt because of absence of its chairman.

During Rental Power Projects (RPPs) implementation case on September 5, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said the attorney general had requested for adjournment of the case and that the delay was being caused by procedural formalities but competent authority should ensure appointment of NAB chairman by September 13.

However, the chief justice showed his displeasure over delay in appointment of NAB chief and said: “Even the ball has not set on rolling.”

The last NAB chief Retired Admiral Fasih Bokhari was removed by the Supreme Court on May 28 after his appointment was declared illegal.

Earlier the Supreme Court on June 26 took a serious note over delay in the appointment of the NAB chairman as Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry questioned the attorney general that why there was delay and ordered for appointment of the NAB chief in three months.

NAB has been facing multiple problems due to absence of a chairman as it cannot file fresh references against senior government officials, and cannot even file appeals which should be filed within days against any court order duly signed by the chairman and prosecutor general.

According to NAB Ordinance, the NAB chairman has to be appointed through consultation with the Leader of the Opposition. And the Supreme Court had already ordered for ‘meaningful’ consultation between the government and the opposition.

Earlier, the government and the opposition had proposed two names each for the slot but all were rejected. The government had already proposed two names for the post. They were: Retired Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery and a former federal secretary, Khawaja Zaheer Ahmed while the opposition had suggested two names—Retired Justice Bhagwandas and Retired Justice Sardar Raza.

On this the prime minister asked Khursheed Shah to propose more names. The selected name is being kept secret by the two sides.