Senate committee defers NAB performance review as law minister, chairman absent

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice postponed a scheduled review of the National Accountability Bureau's (NAB) performance on Tuesday after both the federal law minister and the NAB chairman failed to attend the meeting.

The session, chaired by Senator Farooq H. Naek, was set to discuss key issues concerning the anti-graft watchdog, including updates on cases under inquiry, ongoing trials, recoveries, and investigations conducted over the past five years. However, the absence of Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar and NAB Chairman retired Lt Gen Nazir Ahmed led to the deferral of these agenda items.

At the start of the meeting, NAB Deputy Chairman Sohail Nasir informed the committee that Chairman Nazir Ahmed was unable to participate due to prior commitments. With the law minister also not present, the committee decided to delay the performance review and related discussions.

In addition to the NAB review, the committee addressed other matters related to judicial infrastructure, the availability of facilities for the legal fraternity, and the operational framework of the constitutional court. Members of the committee expressed concerns regarding the lack of adequate facilities at the constitutional court, highlighting the need for improvements to support the judiciary and legal professionals.

The committee indicated that the postponed meeting to review NAB’s performance is likely to be rescheduled after Eid.