Anti-graft watchdog: Headhunt begins for new NAB chairman

PM recommends names of Justice (retd) Rehmat Jafri and Khawaja Zaheer in letter to opposition leader.

In a move meant to shore up his government’s credentials in the fight against corruption, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday formally kick-started the headhunt for a new chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Following weeks of internal deliberations, the premier finally recommended the names of Justice (retd) Rehmat Jafri and former federal secretary Khawaja Zaheer for the top slot at the country’s premier accountability agency.

In a letter to the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Syed Khursheed Shah, the premier put forward the two names as suitable replacements for Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari who was sent packing by the Supreme Court in May, this year.

According to procedure, the leader of the opposition is empowered to raise valid objections over the nominations, suggest new candidates or accept the nomination of the prime minister.

The leader of the opposition – who belongs to the Pakistan Peoples Party – is expected to take his party and other opposition groups into confidence before he responds to the prime minister’s letter.



After the 18th Amendment, NAB chairman cannot be appointed without the consent of the opposition leader in the National Assembly. However, President Asif Ali Zardari had appointed Bokhari to the important post in 2011 without following due process.

The nominees

Justice (retd) Rahmat Hussain Jafri, a former administrative judge of the anti-terrorism courts Karachi Division, hails from Larkana, in Sindh, and has served in various parts of the province.

During his service he ruled on various important cases, including the plane hijacking case against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in which he sentenced Sharif to life imprisonment on two charges of hijacking and terrorism.

Justice (retd) Jafri was elevated to the Sindh High Court (SHC) as an ad hoc judge on August 27, 2002 and was confirmed on August 27, 2003. He was appointed the Supreme Court judge on September 7, 2009. On the other hand Khawaja Zaheer is a retired bureaucrat.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2013.