Extension in tenure of NAB chairman on the cards

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Law has prepared a draft for the extension of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal’s tenure under the Presidential Ordinance, sources said Thursday. Sources privy to the matter said that the draft will be presented to President Alvi after its approval from Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Sources said that Iqbal will keep serving at the post of NAB chairman till a new chairman is appointed, adding that the tenure of a NAB chairman cannot be extended under Section 6 (b) of the NAB Ordinance 1999.

Earlier, Federal Law Minister Farogh Naseem had rejected media reports and clarified that his ministry had not drafted an ordinance to extend the tenure of Justice (retd) Iqbal as the NAB chief.

He said that it was the prime minister’s prerogative to pick a person for the post of the head of the anti-corruption watchdog and that he could only give his advice on the issue. Naseem said the prime minister will consider more than one name for the post and "will pick whoever he deems fit for the slot."

Moreover, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry had said that the government will not be consulting Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif over the appointment of the NAB’s next chairman. He termed consulting with Shahbaz over the matter akin to asking a suspect who their interrogating officer should be.