PM Imran Khan not ready to consult Opposition leader over NAB chairman appointment: sources

• Prime Minister Imran Khan says he will not consult the leader of the Opposition over the appointment of the NAB chairman, say sources.
• Federal Cabinet approves NAB ordinance to extend term of NAB Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal.
• As per the law, the NAB chairman is to be appointed by the president in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition for a period of four years.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has refused to consult the leader of the opposition over the appointment of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman post, Geo News reported on Thursday. 

Earlier, the federal Cabinet had approved the NAB ordinance pertaining to the extension in the tenure of NAB Chairperson Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal.

Sources are now saying that Prime Minister Imran Khan has taken a stand and is saying that he will not consult the leader of the Opposition over the anti-corruption watchdog’s appointmen

According to sources, the premier made it clear to Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry and Federal Law Minister Farogh Naseem that he will not consult the leader of the Opposition or members of the Opposition.

Earlier, speaking on Geo News programme Geo Pakistan, Barrister Naseem said that there was no discussion on the appointment of the NAB chairman in the federal cabinet. He said that what Fawad Chaudhry had said was about an earlier meeting.

The topic of discussing the NAB chairperson’s appointment with Shehbaz Sharif came about later, Naseem said.

He said that the name of the current NAB chairman, Javed Iqbal, is also circulating for the post, but that, for the time being, the new chairman will remain the old NAB chairman.

Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal will stay on as the chairman of NAB till the appointment of a new chief of the anti-graft watchdog, it was decided in a high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan a day earlier, The News had reported.

Addressing a press conference following a cabinet meeting, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry had said an ordinance was being brought on Wednesday (today) to do away with a legal lacuna with reference to consultation on the new NAB chairman’s appointment, in case the leader of the House or Opposition faces NAB cases.

Well-placed sources said the government will not be giving another term to Javed Iqbal through new amendments to the NAB Ordinance 1999.

It has been decided that in case the government wants to give another four-year term to Javed Iqbal or appoint a new chairman, the leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly will be consulted.

Since Prime Minister Imran Khan was reluctant to directly interact with Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif, it was decided that, going by the words of the NAB law, President Arif Alvi will facilitate the consultation process for the appointment of the new chairman.

NAB law about appointment of its chief

The NAB law says that “there shall be a Chairman NAB to be appointed by the president in consultation with the [Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly] for a [non-extendable] period of [four] years on such terms and conditions as may be determined by the president and shall not be removed except on the grounds of removal of judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.”

This means that unlike what ministers say in public, the leader of the Opposition will be consulted in the appointment of a new chairman or for a second-term appointment of the incumbent NAB chief. In case the prime minister and the leader of the Opposition do not agree on any name, the case will be referred to a parliamentary committee which will have equal representation of members from the treasury and Opposition benches.

The ordinance will also clear the vagueness surrounding the forum that will have the power to remove the NAB chairman. It has been decided that the Supreme Judicial Council will be the forum that will consider any case or reference about the misconduct of the NAB chairman.

In last week’s meeting, it was discussed to curtail the chairman’s unfettered power to arrest any accused. However, in the final meeting held on the subject on Tuesday, the government decided not to touch this power of the NAB chairman but instead empower the accountability court to release the accused on bail where the court is satisfied.