NAB chief appointment hearing adjourned

SC adjourns hearing of petitions against the appointment of the NAB chairman for two weeks.

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) adjourned, on Monday, the hearing of miscellaneous petitions against the appointment of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman, Justice (Retd) Deedar Hussain Shah.

According to Express 24/7 reporter Faisal Shakeel, the attorney general has been given a notice to give the federation's point of view on the subject.

A three-member bench headed by Justice Javed Iqbal heard the petitions.

The much controversial appointment was made by President Asif Ali Zardari on October 8, 2010.

The appointment was challenged by opposition leader in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali and a local journalist, Shahid Orakzai. Advocate Akram Shaikh representing Chaudhry Nisar presented his arguments before the court. He claimed that the opposition was not consulted over the appointment and therefore it was illegal.

The court noted that the opposition leader had rejected both recommendations forwarded to him by the federal government. The court also questioned whether consultation was tantamount to accepting the recommendation, and asked if there was any procedure that could define an agreeable consultation.

The hearing has been adjourned for two weeks.