ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the federal government to fill the vacant posts of chairman and prosecutor general of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) within one month, or else the bureau could “practically cease to exist”.
The three-member bench held that if the government failed to fill both vacant seats in one month, the deputy chairman would automatically be barred from exercising delegated powers of NAB chairman, and in that case, NAB could become non-functional.
“If in such an eventuality, NAB practically ceases to exist or function under the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, the blame shall rest squarely upon the shoulders of the federal government,” the bench held in its 10-page judgment authored by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa.
The bench, comprising Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, held that the court had intentionally avoided ordering the closing down of NAB as it would badly affect the functioning of accountability courts, inquiries and investigations that are pending in the bureau.
“Keeping in view the drastic implications and the alarming possibilities hinted at by the attorney general of Pakistan, we tend to agree with him that instead of becoming instrumental in closing down the National Accountability Bureau and winding up the inquiries, investigations and trials being conducted by it at present, we may provide one more opportunity to the federal government to fill the offices of the chairman and the prosecutor general within a reasonable time,” the bench said in its judgment.
The court issued these directions while disposing of a constitutional petition filed by Al-Jehad Trust challenging the appointment of Deputy Chairman NAB Javed Zia Qazi and seeking direction to restrain him from exercising the delegated power of the chairman. Advocate Habibul Wahab Alkhairi appeared on behalf of the petitioner while Waseem Sajjad represented the deputy chairman of NAB.
The court pointed out that the chairman may delegate some power to the deputy chairman under section 34-A of the National Accountability Ordinance 1999, but he has no independent duties or functions of his own and his only job is to assist the chairman in the performance of his duties and to carry out such functions as directed by the chairman.
The office of the chairman is presently lying vacant for the last many months and the deputy chairman cannot exercise delegated powers when there is no chairman present.
The court said that under these circumstances such an exercise may amount to committing fraud with or upon the relevant statute.
Meanwhile, the apex court also gave the government a two-day deadline to appoint a new head for the commission investigating the missing persons’ case after its former chairman, Justice (Retd) Fazlur Rehman, resigned to take up a position on the Election Commission of Pakistan.
The court also reprimanded the Sindh government for having failed to implement the court’s decisions on the case of missing persons’ from that province. The hearings were adjourned till June 29.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 22nd, 2011.
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