ISLAMABAD: Newly appointed Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability, Brigadier (R) Musaddiq Abbasi is said to have visited the NAB headquarters on Thursday and met Chairman Justice (R) Javed Iqbal, who is said to have that they are suffering from covid. Informed sources said that Abbasi also met deputy chairman NAB. NAB sources said the purpose of the visit was to help the bureau deliver and ensure faster result-oriented accountability. When contacted, an NAB spokesperson did not confirm or deny these meetings. On Wednesday, the spokesperson had told The News that Javed Iqbal has not been coming to office for the last several days due to Kovid. On Thursday, when contacted, the spokesperson said he did not know whether the Speaker attended the office on Thursday or whether he had recovered from COVID. The spokesperson also said that he was not aware of SAPM's visit to the Bureau Headquarters. He said that the staff of Chairman NAB would know better about the presence of Javed Iqbal on Thursday as well as the visit of SAPM.
Prime Minister Imran Khan is not satisfied with the performance of the NAB, which, apart from capacity issues, is currently severely affected by the non-availability of a full-time regular chairman. Current Speaker Javed Iqbal remains in his post till a new chairman is appointed and the government is in no hurry to find a replacement.
An NAB source, however, insisted that Javed Iqbal is also not happy with his current position and that is why he is not attending office regularly. The source said that Javed Iqbal came to the office only once on Wednesday last week and appeared in the office yesterday (Thursday) due to the visit of SAPM. No notification is said to have been issued by the Law Ministry despite the government promulgating an ordinance to continue the chairmanship of NAB till the appointment of a regular chairman.
NAB sources claim that Javed Iqbal, being a legal mind, understands that in the current situation his decisions as NAB chairman can be questioned and hence he wants the government to serve him for another term. appoint.
The Executive Board Meeting (EBM) of the NAB is said to have not been held in the last four months. A source claimed that no reference was recorded and no arrests were made during this period.
NAB sources said that the functioning of the bureau has been seriously affected due to the present situation. There is no indication as to when the government will begin the appointment process for the new NAB chairman. While the current one is said to be making its bid to get another four-year term, official sources said some influential figures in the government are in favor of appointing former vice-president Hussain Asghar as the next head of the anti-corruption body. are in.
Another lobby within the government is said to be trying to make Lt Gen (retd) Bilal Akbar the chairman of the NAB. At this stage nothing can be said about who will make it in the end, as the process of appointing the Speaker NAB involves the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. If they do not agree on a name, the matter will be referred to a parliamentary committee.