ISLAMABAD: Consultations between Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Opposition Leader in National Assembly Khursheed Shah for the appointment of a new chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) have entered a critical phase, as both the sides have decided to keep the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) out of the exercise.
Sources privy to the development, while referring to the appointment of the existing NAB chief, told Pakistan Today that another “underhand deal” was on the cards, since the two sides were likely to go with the name of Aftab Sultan, the director general of the Intelligence Bureau, to be the next chief of the accountability watchdog.
The sources further said that both the sides had come up with their proposals: the federal government had proposed the names of IB DG Aftab Sultan, Justice (r) Rehmat Jaffery and Justice (r) Ijaz Chaudhry, while the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Awami National Party (ANP) and other opposition parties, excluding PTI and MQM, had suggested names of Justice (r) Javed Iqbal, Justice (r) Faqir Mohammad Khokhar and former ECP secretary Ishtiak Ahmed for the slot of NAB chief.
