NAB not following int’l practices for hiring: IHC

Justice Athar Minallah expresses wonder at appointment of a storekeeper as investigation officer

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has expressed wonder at the appointment of a former storekeeper to the position of an investigation officer at the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and noted that the top accountability watchdog has disregarded international practices for hiring.

An IHC bench, presided over by Chief Justice Athar Minallah, was hearing on Friday a petition filed against alleged discrimination against an official who was transferred to the graft buster from the Ministry of Defence.

During the hearing the judge addressed himself to NAB prosecutor Jahanzeb Bharwana and noted that the petitioner was a storekeeper and had no experience of investigation into white collar crimes but he was appointed as an investigation officer at NAB.

“We note that you [NAB] do not follow international practices [for hiring]. This [NAB investigation] is a highly specialized field as the lives of people depend on your action,” the judge noted.

Talking with reference to the petitioner, the court observed that the person in question carried out investigations while he was getting on-job training. “What would have happened to the people [against whom the petitioner investigated],” Justice Minallah added.

NAB Prosecutor Bharwana told the bench that the Supreme Court had instructed the NAB chairman to consider the petitioner’s case on hardship basis. He said NAB had framed its rules for appointment and these rules were at present being reviewed by the Ministry of Law.

An assistant of the petitioner’s counsel Kamran Murtaza appeared before the bench and requested it to adjourn the hearing in view of the counsel’s absence. The court accepted the request and adjourned the hearing.

The Supreme Court on August 7 took suo motu notice to examine NAB chairman’s authority to appoint directors general to the anti-graft body sans rules and regulations.

The two-judge bench, led by Justice Mushir Alam, also issued a notice to Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Javed Khan to assist the court in relation to the powers of the NAB chairman.

 The bench questioned how the NAB chairman is appointing senior officials in violation of the law and Constitution, adding that Section 28 of NAB is violating Article 240 of the Constitution. NAB later informed the court that it had framed the relevant rules and sent them to the law ministry.