SC questions NAB chief's power to hire key officials

Seeks details regarding appointment of all NAB directors-general

ISLAMABAD:

The apex court has raised serious questions about authority of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman to appoint directors-general at the top graft buster while issuing notices to NAB and the state's top law officer - the Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP).

A two-judge bench, led by Justice Mushir Alam and comprising Justice Qazi Faez Isa on Wednesday, lambasted NAB for pursuing "its own agenda" while hearing appeal of Muhammad Nadeem, a man who allegedly blackmailed people by passing himself off as a NAB official.

During the hearing, Justice Isa asked NAB Director General Irfan Naeem Mangi - who had appeared in the courtroom - as to what was his qualification and present salary and if he had any experience of criminal prosecution.

Mangi told the bench that he was an engineer by training and that he had no experience of criminal cases.  "How can an engineer hold such a high position in NAB? Under which law does NAB chairman recruit?" Justice Isa questioned.

The judge noted that people are rotting in jails due to the incompetence of NAB officers. "No rules and regulations of NAB have been made since 1999," Justice Isa said. Justice Alam remarked: "We are all employees of the state. We must fight the forces that stand in the way of the rule of law."

The bench questioned how the NAB chairman is appointing senior officials in violation of the law and Constitution, adding that Section 28 of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999 is violating Article 240 of the Constitution.

The bench later issued notices to AGP Khalid Javed Khan and NAB with regard to the power of NAB chairman to appoint director generals. The SC also sought details regarding the appointment of all NAB directors-general.

The SC also granted bail to the accused and adjourned hearing of the case indefinitely.

An apex court bench on July 20 raised serious questions about the conduct of NAB in its detailed verdict explaining reasons for granting bail to PML-N's senior leader Khawaja Saad Rafique and his brother Khawaja Salman Rafique in a NAB case.

The 87-page order said the accountability laws are “successfully employed “in the country as tools to change political loyalties and for splintering and fracturing political parties.

"Pygmies were selected, nurtured, promoted, and brought to prominence and power. People with notorious backgrounds and criminal credentials were thrust to rule us in various capacities with predictable results,” it said.

According to the verdict, "NAB's conduct throughout this case [against the PML-N leaders] is a clear manifestation of their utter disregard for law, fair play, equity and propriety".

"The bureau seems reluctant in proceeding against people on one side of the political divide even in respect of financial scams of massive proportion while those on the other side are being arrested and incarcerated for months and years without providing any sufficient cause,” it said.