LAHORE: The appointment of retired Lt. Gen. Nazir Ahmad Butt as the new chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for a three-year term has sparked controversy, with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Omar Sarfaraz Cheema announcing that his party plans to challenge the appointment in court.
The former governor of Punjab argued that the appointment was illegitimate, given that the National Assembly speaker allowed PTI dissident Raja Riaz Ahmad to continue as the opposition leader, despite no longer having majority support from the opposition benches.
Cheema pointed out that Riaz’s confession of being an aspirant for a ticket from the ruling PML-N in the upcoming elections further undermines his legitimacy.
The PTI had previously written to the National Assembly speaker requesting the appointment of PTI deputy chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi as the opposition leader, but the request was denied.
Cheema believes that this decision, along with Ahmad’s questionable status as opposition leader, taints the appointment of the new NAB chairman and warrants a challenge in court.
