Nisar says appointment of NAB chief to be challenged

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-N has decided to challenge the appointment of Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain Shah as Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), alleging that the decision to appoint a former PPP MPA was meant to protect the interests of the ruling party.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said it was yet to be decided if the court would be approached by the party or an individual.

“There are cases of colossal corruption to the tune of billions of rupees pending in NAB courts against various PPP leaders, including President Asif Ali Zardari, and the controversial appointment is directed at putting these cases on the back-burner,” he alleged.

He said that on Sept 30 the government had sought three weeks’ time from the Supreme Court for consultation with the opposition leader, while his refusal to accept Justice Deedar had become part of the record on Sept 24.

He rejected the government’s contention that the consultation was not binding on the president and said the term had been interpreted by the Supreme Court in several judgments.

Chaudhry Nisar said the appointment was against the spirit of a court order under which the NAB chief had been changed because a ‘more compromised’ person had been brought in. The move was also against the spirit of the Charter of Democracy under which an impartial person was to head the institution, he said.

He said the accountability law had been tabled in the National Assembly at a time when a debate was not possible. This violates an understanding between the government and the opposition.

The opposition leader said that by going against judicial verdicts the government was heading towards a point of no return.

He said that while the best way forward was for the government to mend its ways, all constitutional and democratic options for a political change were open, including an in-house change, mid-term polls and change of leadership.

Chaudhry Nisar said that because of its failures the ruling party appeared to have decided to present itself as a “political martyr”, with President Zardari acting like a ‘suicide bomber’ threatening to blow up the entire system if he was affected.

Answering a question, he said the PML-N would not bother even if it lost the Punjab government in a democratic manner.

However, he said, those criticising the Punjab government should pull out of it before indulging in mud-slinging.