Lt-Gen (r) Nazir Ahmad appointed new NAB chairman

ISLAMABAD, March 4 (SABAH): The federal government on Saturday appointed Lt Gen (r) Nazir Ahmad as the new chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for three years.

According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice, the retired general’s name for the position was finalised after detailed deliberation between the Leader of the House and the opposition leader. The appointment came after previous NAB chairman Aftab Sultan resigned last month, citing interference and pressure.

Although he did not elaborate on who was pressuring him, the main opposition PTI claimed he was being coerced to file corruption references against their chief Imran Khan. Sultan had sent his resignation to PM Shehbaz which was subsequently accepted, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had confirmed.

Sultan was himself appointed to the post of the head of the anti-corruption watchdog by the incumbent government last year in July after retired Justice Javed Iqbal had relinquished charge as the NAB chairman. Four days later, the NAB appointed Zahir Shah as its acting chairman.