Former director-general of Intelligence Bureau Aftab Sultan has been appointed National Accountability Bureau chairman, the media reported.
Aftab Sultan was appointed as the NAB chairman after the formal approval of the federal cabinet meeting held today. According to the details in the media, the allied parties had opposed the suggestion to appoint Sultan as the NAB chairman. However, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held consultations and finally made the decision for his appointment.
Aftab Sultan has served as the IB DG twice and has remained associated with the police department on senior posts as a grade-22 official.
The position of Chairman NAB had been unoccupied since the former chairman Justice (R) Javed Iqbal retired on Jun 2, 2022. Deputy Chairman Zahira Shah was performing as acting NAB head.
Read more: Is Fawad Hassan Fawad being appointed NAB chairman?
Other nominees for consideration were former bureaucrat Fawad Hassan Fawad, ex-chairman NAB Qamar-uz-Zaman and former DG FIA Bashir Memon for the post.
بریکنگ نیوز: سابق ڈی جی آئی بی اور انتہائی دیانتدار شخص آفتاب سلطان کی بحیثیت چئیرمین نیب تعیناتی کیلئے کابینہ نے منظوری دے دی
— Umar Cheema (@UmarCheema1) July 21, 2022
Corruption charges
Interestingly, the appointment of Aftab Sultan as NAB Chairman is creating waves on social media due to the alleged corruption cases. PTI leader and former federal minister for education Shafqat Mahmood has criticized the appointment of Aftab Sultan.
“It is no surprise that this government of looters and plunderers has appointed a loyalist as Chairman NAB today but cannot find time to appoint Governor State Bank during perhaps the worst economic crisis in the history of this country,” Shafqat Mahmood tweeted.
It is no surprise that this government of looters and plunderers has appointed a loyalist as Chairman NAB today but cannot find time to appoint Governor State Bank during perhaps the worst economic crisis in the history of this country
— Shafqat Mahmood (@Shafqat_Mahmood) July 21, 2022
In 2020, media reports emerged that NAB had approved filing corruption references against former foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry and ex-intelligence Bureau chief Aftab Sultan.
In a statement, the anti-corruption watchdog said that Nawaz Sharif, Fawad Hassan Fawad, Aizaz Chaudhry, and Aftab Sultan had been allegedly involved in the illegal purchase of 73 vehicles for the security of high-level foreign dignitaries and added that it had caused a loss of Rs1952.74 million (approx Rs2 billion) to the national exchequer. They were further accused of nepotism and misusing using these vehicles.
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