Zahir Shah, the deputy chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), has been appointed as the acting chairman of the anti-graft body. A notification in this regard was issued.
According to the details, Zahir Shah has been working with NAB for more than a decade and had already held several positions in the organisation, including the coveted post of Director General NAB Rawalpindi.
In October 2021, he was appointed deputy chairman of the NAB. However, since Aftab Sultan tendered his resignation from his office as the bureau’s chairman, Zahir Shah has been looking after the anti-corruption agency.
Read more: NAB Chairman Aftab Sultan resigns
Pertinent to mention that the post of NAB chairman is a constitutional position and the Prime Minister will make the appointment for the office after consulting the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly.
Resignation of Aftab Sultan
Aftab Sultan tendered his resignation as the anti-graft watchdog chair on Tuesday, citing “interference” and “pressure”. After serving for eight months, Aftab Sultan sent his resignation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif which was subsequently accepted.
“I can neither initiate a false case nor drop an established reference merely because the culprit was related to some big shot,” a NAB press release on the matter quoted Aftab Sultan as saying, without mentioning any specific case.
He said that throughout his professional career, he tried to act according to the law and never compromised on his principles. As a result, Aftab Sultan won praise for resigning instead of compromising his moral principles.
Hats off to Aftab Sultan who refused to follow the orders like his predecessor Javed Iqbal and resigned as Chairman NAB. He set examples for many others. Most of the honest officers in this country transferred and posted as OSD.
— Mazhar Abbas (@MazharAbbasGEO) February 21, 2023
Soon after Aftab Sultan’s resignation, PTI demanded that a new leader of the opposition in the National Assembly should be appointed before the selection of the new National Accountability Bureau chairman.
According to sources, the coalition government is considering the names of Azam Suleman and Irfan Elahi for the coveted post. Irfan Elahi is a former federal secretary and had worked as chairman planning department. The other candidate Azam Suleman Khan is a retired Pakistani civil servant who is currently serving as the Ombudsman of Punjab.
Read more: PTI demands new NA opposition leader before NAB chief selection