Zahir Shah appointed as acting NAB chairman

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has appointed Zahir Shah as its acting chairman after Aftab Sultan resigned from the post on Tuesday, it emerged on Saturday.

Zahir has worked as the bureau’s director general (operations) in the past and was subsequently appointed as its deputy chairman in October 2021.

He has been serving with NAB for almost two decades and has held key positions.

He had also performed his duties as the acting chairman for about a month in June 2022, following which Sultan was appointed for the role.

In a notification issued on Friday, the anti-graft body designated Zahir with the role with effect from Feb 22 “in pursuance of the proviso to Section 6b(v)” (NAB chairman) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.

Zahir’s appointment came after the sudden resignation of Sultan as the NAB chairman only after seven months at the anti-graft watchdog’s helm.

Sultan cited “interference” and “pressure” as the reasons for his departure, but did not elaborate on who was pressuring him. The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf took the opportunity to say that the remarks were evidence that he was being coerced into filing corruption references against Imran Khan.