ISLAMABAD: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan replied to President Asif Ali Zardari's letter on Monday, rejecting his proposal to reappoint Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain Shah as chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The letter signed by Muhammad Zameer, secretary to the PML-N leader, said: “Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had already conveyed his opinion to the prime minister regarding the non-suitability of Justice (retd) Deedar Shah for the post of chairman and suggested that a panel of suitable candidates for the office of chairman be made and consultation process be adopted to ensure consensus.”

The letter was sent to the president a day before his address to a joint sitting of parliament. Chaudhry Nisar had earlier said he would not reply to the president's letter till a detailed verdict by the Supreme Court on his petition challenging the reappointment of Mr Shah. In its short order, a three-judge SC bench had ordered the removal of Mr Shah from the office he had assumed five months ago.

“Leader of the opposition has the highest respect and regard for the august court and is of the view that its order should have been accepted without any demand and another suitable person be appointed after a meaningful and consensus-oriented consultation with the leader of the opposition,” the letter said.

Chaudhry Nisar said it was 'strange' that without waiting for the court's detailed order, the president had again proposed the appointment of Justice Shah as NAB chairman.

“On the same day, the Sindh chapter of Pakistan People's Party organised a province-wide protest against the order of the apex court, bringing it into hatred, ridicule and contempt and provoking a confrontation on a non-issue, viz that Justice Shah belongs to Sindh. The tragic aspect of this unlawful protest, which has made Justice Shah even more controversial, is that it resulted in the death of a number of innocent citizens in Karachi,” the letter said.

In his letter, President Zardari described Mr Shah as a 'man of integrity' and recalled his service as chief justice of the Sindh High Court and a judge of the Supreme Court.

“The honourable leader of the opposition in the National Assembly is requested to kindly consider the proposal of appointment of Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain Shah as NAB chairman and convey his views in this behalf,” the president's letter, signed by his secretary Malik Asif Hayat, said.

In his letter, Chaudhry Nisar urged the government to approve the procedure proposed by the opposition in the new accountability bill for the appointment of NAB chairman.

In response to the president's claim that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif had commended the service of Deedar Shah as SHC chief justice, the opposition leader said: “Reliance on Mr Sharif's application in the Supreme Court in a criminal appeal against an order of the SHC is entirely misplaced. In the application, his lawyers had complained about certain difficulties faced by them during hearings of the case in the high court and pointed out that such difficulties had not arisen earlier when Justice Shah was chief justice because he had cautioned both the advocates and the public to maintain discipline and decorum.

“How this particular comment has been translated into Mr Sharif's expression of confidence in Justice Deedar Shah and its misuse publicly by the government is indeed a sad reflection on how the government interprets words and incidents to suit its own perspective and interests.”

PPP sources said the government believed that Mr Shah could be appointed again by addressing technical flaws and hitches identified by the apex court. According to them, the government is also considering to keep the post of NAB chairman vacant and get it run by its deputy chairman Javed Kazi, who is said to be a close associate of President Zardari.

The government is planning to replace the NAB, created by the Musharraf regime, with the National Accountability Commission by May this year.