Opposition, govt fail to pick out NAB chief

Opposition suggested the name of Ajmal Mian, a former chief justice of Pakistan, for the post of NAB Chairman.

ISLAMABAD: Despite pressure from the Supreme Court, the government and the opposition have failed to agree on who should head the country’s top anti-graft watchdog. A consensus is unlikely until the prime minister returns from his New York trip where he is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly.

On Friday, the prime minister, Nawaz Sharif and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Syed Khursheed Shah, discussed potential choices for the office of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman. They, however, failed to pick out a replacement for Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari who was sent packing by the Supreme Court in May this year.

“The prime minister did not propose any new name,” Shah told journalists after the meeting. He added that he has suggested the name of Ajmal Mian, a 79-year-old former chief justice of Pakistan, on behalf of the opposition. However, Nawaz wasn’t impressed.

Constitutionally, the leader of the house (prime minister) has to consult the opposition leader before appointing a NAB chief.

The prime minister is scheduled to embark upon a week-long visit to New York sometime on Sunday and before that he would not be able to meet Shah for a second round of consultations. Nawaz will travel to Mianwali on Saturday to offer condolences to the family of Maj Gen Sanaullah Niazi, who died in a Taliban roadside blast in Upper Dir last week.

“Then, he will head for Lahore before flying to New York on Sunday,” said an official of the Prime Minister’s Office. “The consultations would likely resume after the prime minister’s return on September 29.”

The Supreme Court had warned that the government might have to face ‘consequences’ if a NAB chairman is not appointed by September 13 – a deadline set by the top court. Once that deadline passed, no new deadline was set by the court but the government was asked to make the appointment ‘as quickly as possible”.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the name of Justice (Retd) Javed Iqbal also figured during Friday’s meeting – but the two leaders could not evolve a consensus. Shah said Justice (Retd) Sardar Raza was still the opposition’s second choice. He had also suggested the name of Justice (Retd) Rana Bhagwandas who, however, excused himself.

The government had proposed the names of Khawaja Zaheer and Justice (Retd) Rehmat Hussain Jafri. The former was later appointed special assistant to the prime minister leaving only Justice (Retd) Jafri as the government’s choice.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st, 2013.