Shahzad dismisses reports of govt mulling NAB chairman's removal

ISLAMABAD: There is no truth to reports that the government is considering a move to replace Chairman NAB Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability, Shahzad Akbar.

"There is no truth in such reports. They are baseless," he said in an interview to a newspaper. Akbar blamed "some vested interest groups" for spreading fake news of changes being made to the NAB ordinance and removal of the bureau's chairman.

"Some people who are facing corruption cases are behind these false reports," he said, adding that the same elements had shared fake drafts of an amended NAB ordinance on social media as well.

The statement from the prime minister's aide comes a few days after he said that the opposition had wished to curtail NAB's powers. Akbar had said that as far as amendments to the ordinance were concerned, the government would consult both the opposition and NAB.

Geo News had reported that a draft amendment to the NAB Ordinance has been prepared by the government which states that matters related to taxes and duties will not be under the bureau's jurisdiction. As per the draft, cases handled by the federal and provincial regulatory bodies would also not come under NAB's jurisdiction once the formal approval for changes to the law has been given.

Inquiries and investigations related to the taxes and duties that are being pursued by the bureau will be handed over to the relevant bodies after the amendment has been passed by the lawmakers.

After the changes are made, the accountability bureau will no longer be probing corruption-related matters that do not involve a sum of at least Rs1 billion. The federal cabinet will also be exempt from NAB inquires.