Appointment of NAB chairman challenged in SHC

The petitioner says the chief justice had not been consulted regarding the appointment of the NAB chairman.

The appointment Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain Shah as chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was challenged in the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday.

Applicant Siddiq Mirza advocate has challenged Deedar Hussain Shah's appointment as chairman NAB.

In his petition, Mirza said that the chief justice had not been consulted regarding the the appointment of the NAB chairman. The petitioner asked the court to declare the appointment of NAB chairman null and void. The Sindh High Court has accepted the petition for hearing.

Earlier, last week the appointment of Justice Deedar had been challenged in the Lahore High Court (LHC) on the grounds that it violated the Constitution and that the chief justice and opposition leader had not been consulted before the appointment.

The PML-N has been strongly opposing the appointment of the NAB chairman. On Monday, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, announced that his party would move the court against the appointment of Justice (Retd) Deedar as new chairman of NAB.

Earlier, opposing President Zardari's decision to bring Justice Deedar in as NAB chairman, Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif threatened that PML-N would take out a 'long march' if the appointment was not retracted.