President Zardari appointed Fasih Bukhari as NAB chairman on October 16, 2011. PHOTO: PID
The decision was announced in a short order issued by a five-member bench.
Former leader of the opposition Chaudhry Nisar had petitioned the apex court on October 22, 2011 seeking a declaration against the appointment as void ab initio (illegal from the beginning), saying it was not made by President Asif Ali Zardari in consultation with the leader of the house (prime minister), leader of the opposition or the chief justice.
President Zardari appointed Bukhari as NAB chairman on October 16, 2011.
The Supreme Court today ruled that Bukhari's selection was in violation of the constitution.
"The chairman is not happy with the Supreme Court's decision, but he has accepted it and is going home," a NAB official said, requesting anonymity.
"As per the law, NAB cannot take decisions on any pending cases unless the chairman signs off on them," said Ahmed Safdar, a bureau spokesperson.
"For all practical purposes then, we can't move forward on any cases until we have a new head, which will take some time."
The bureau is investigating several high-profile cases, including charges against former Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on suspicion of receiving kickbacks in power projects and three accusations of graft against prime minister-elect Nawaz Sharif.
Bukhari was also charged earlier in a contempt of court case for writing a strongly worded letter to the president, in which he said that the apex court proceedings were putting undue pressure on NAB investigators by trying to influence investigations in different corruption cases.
COMMENTS (46)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
1732621030-0/Express-Tribune-(7)1732621030-0-270x192.webp "won t leave until imran khan orders us to k p cm gandapur")
1732622842-0/Express-Tribune-(9)1732622842-0-270x192.webp "pakistan belarus to fast track bilateral agreements sign multiple mous")
1725254039-0/Untitled-design-(24)1725254039-0-270x192.webp "hidden hand blocking pti s dialogue efforts mohsin naqvi")
1732617223-0/Untitled-design-(69)1732617223-0-270x192.webp "pti protestors reach islamabad s d chowk amid tense clashes")
I hope that someone will scrutinize the role of ex chairman NAB Fasih Bokhari--as he made several very dubious deals during his tenure, including alleged release of mega-banking criminal Hamesh Khan, who is closely related to him.
@qamar: I agree with you 100%. Days are not far away when all will be exposed about the media house whom these journalists/anchor persons represent.
@sadiq
and you have declared it murder on the basis of? Maybe you should be our CJ
Does any body remember the murder of Kamral Faisal. Fasih Bokhar was declaring it a suicide, many hours before the post mortem started
Justice is delayed, Justice is denied....................
ET....This comment was not given before,please post.
@Aftab Kenneth Wilson....This is called Judicial Dictatorship !
Selective Morality is Immorality...........Hussain Haqani will have the last laugh sitting on the back burner !!
Khalil Ramdey..........on the way..........shame...shame, if such top cases takes years to decide it's wasting of time/money
Vindictiveness of the CJ/SC.
I think it’s time we revisit Wikileaks and the conversation of Saudi Interior Minister with US Ambassador regarding Nawaz Sharif. The same Saudi Interior Minister who brokered the deal between Musharraf and Nawaz told the US Ambassador that he strongly believes that Nawaz Sharif has made a deal with Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. The decisions have since been apparent - revisiting the hijacking case after 10 years, allowing pleas of PML-N and now this judgment.
I wonder what are the other 16-17 Judges up to? Can't they notice the perception and selective bias of Supreme Court decisions? It’s simply sad to see judiciary being politicized to such an extent. I hope the Champion of Justice (PTI) raise some noise. Supreme Court should not be allowed to play as another hand of Nawaz Sharif
@AliKuliKhan: When zardari will leave he will pass the verdict it was illegal When Najam sethi will leave CM-Punjab office he would say it was against article 60 and so on
He made a lot of fuss in implementing the Court's orders regarding Raja Rental. Fussy should have known better.
What a shame....
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-22995-NAB-chief-will-have-to-go-as-Nawaz-takes-over
sangsar abbasi already knew as he is the man near to Allah
SANGSAR ABBASI knew it on 25th may: he wrote: In this situation, Bukhari has got two options. First, tender resignation as soon as possible. Second, prepare for the unceremonial removal through court that possibly would also require from him to refund all the salaries that he has received as yet.
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-22995-NAB-chief-will-have-to-go-as-Nawaz-takes-over
Can't you see the TRIOCA Judge, journalist and Nawaz...
IS NAB getting Saif ur Rahman again!
When Musharraf fired CJ there was a drama in country .How can Courts do the same thing without following the rules.May be Musharraf was correct to fire the cheap justice
Won't be long before you see Nawaz in the court
Tahirul Qadri had the same plea against the ECP but the Sharif Courts did not even allow him to argue.
ha ha ha personal vendetta satisfied....
Bad and political decision.
Justice delayed
Justice Delayed is Justice Denied. What a sham, SC knew it was not consulted, the case was registered in Oct 2011 by opposition leader, who was not consulted, why delay? If the judgement is ab initio then all the cases filed against PML-N are null and void. We go forward with DEMOCRATIC process with another de facto immunity. Tomorrow the caretaker government should announce a day of shame holiday!!
An dogmatic verdict, grounded on personal vendetta of lethal judges,,,, where is so called judiciary on Ittefaq Mill, Hudebia Paper Mill and Asghan Khan cases,,,,, the one who got funds from agencies is eligible to be the PM,, what a pity if SC thinks the folks around here are dumb souls.
These fake judges are now trying to get aligned with Sharif but will be failed betterly as they are placing the Musarraf case in the court of new Govt. and the new govt. has several other issues on priority list . It will not like to get entangled in this pity issues .
Hahahhaha..... CJ meray CJ.... Why do you hurt us by playing like this....
@Khalid: Having a simple majority and an appointment with consultation of Leader of Opposition are two very different things, as far as my knowledge is concerned.
@PostMan: because they have simple majority opposition leader won't mean a thing.
Another sick joke. First the bureaucracy, then the military, and now the judiciary is doing politics, and interfering in governance. All three have failed completely in doing their primary job. Ironically PML-N has helped create a monster for immediate gains with no regard to long term consequences for the country. "Doctrine of necessity" is replaced by "doctrine of 'independent' judiciary".
His selection criteria was that he had previously served in the NABY, so he was perfectly qualified to head the NAB. This criteria was so strong that President was compelled to bypass the consultation with PM and Opposition Leader, as required by the constitution. He was also very good to the President in return and un-nabbed him from several (false, of course) cases.
Should be put on ECL as well, what about the perks he received during this opportunity? Zardari has appointed perfects persons for all wrong jobs!! Being NAB chairman he has protected interests of all accountable!!
Wow!! SC is still functioning.
I thought they were taking a break since elections!!
I do not know why as a Pakistani I should be complaining. This makes consultation of Leader of Opposition all the more important. PPP should be happy that PML (N) will not be able to appoint their own guy.
Something smelling wrong. No suo motto for rigging and corruption in the elections even after IK requests. Is there any invisible connection between CJ and PMLN???????????????????????
Fasih Bukari was protecting Zardari's interests and new one will be protecting Nawaz's interests - the circus will continue on.
The supreme court sacked the NAB Chairman in a case filed by PML N in 2011. The case was fairly simple and could have been decided in a few sittings. The judgement came after the Chairman NAB was being tried for being disrespectful to the court. Similarly Musharraf’s case of detention of judges is based on a FIR not lodged by the aggrieved party i.e. judges. The case filed in the anti terrorism court was incomplete because it lacked the evidence of the judges. The courts may be correct legally but the perception of foul-play is growing.
If non consultation with opposition leader being the grounds of judgement; detailed order will be very interesting.It will give more trouble to new PML N govt and imminent appointment of Mr. Khalil Ramdey may never come but at the same time we should never forget the inventiveness of AZAD ADLIA.
Wow! a simple case takes such a long time to resolve, go to goooo.........
Punishment of writing a letter to President of Pakistan against the Chief Justice & Supreme Court of Pakistan... ! lol for decision.
The judges strike again. The timing of this judgement smells of foul-play.
why do you remember good things late?
ahan so why is it declared void when PML-N is in government? May be CJ along with PML-N are preparing to appoint their own man in place?
Poor SC