ISLAMABAD: Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah said on Thursday he has initiated consultations with the opposition parties over the appointment of new National Accountability Bureau chairman.
Shah also said that he has consulted the matter with PTI and has also called on Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi over it once. So far neither the prime minister nor the opposition has proposed a name, he added. After consultations with all the opposition parties he would hand over the name unanimously agreed upon to the prime minister. Shah added that he opposition parties were also taken in confidence over all such matters in the past because his party PPP decides the national issues with consultations. If the government and the opposition fail to agree over the name for chairman NAB the issue will be put before the 12-member parliamentary committee which comprises of six government and six opposition members. The committee will decide this through voting as per the rules.
Shah said that there is no truth in the names being run in the media to fill the slot of NAB chairman.
The term of NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry ends in November.
He claimed that Shah Mahmood Qureshi wants to replace Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.
He said, “Federal Minister for Railways Saad Rafique’s statement is right as we will do whatever Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Zardari wants.”
On the other hand, Bilawal Zardari and Asif Zardari will return to Pakistan from Dubai to prepare new plan after meeting opposition parties.
Meanwhile, PTI leader Naeemul Haque said his party would oppose the government’s move to appoint the Intelligence Bureau (IB) director general (DG) as the new NAB chairman.
Talking to media, he dispelled the impression that the party is divided over the nomination for the key parliamentary slot of the leader of the opposition. “The party has unanimously reached to a decision that Imran Khan will be the opposition leader,” he claimed.
Coming down hard on Nawaz Sharif, Haque said Nawaz has personal ties with Indian officials and his men are still in the government.
He said that state institutions cannot function impartially under incumbent Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. “The Model Town incident report has still not made public despite the court orders, besides ‘Dawn Leaks’,” he remarked.
Justifying Imran Khan‘s snap polls demand, he said that the government has failed to cope with prevailing challenges across the country. “Imran Khan’s early election demand was to address the public grievances,” he added.
Separately, Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq said it is imperative that all political parties agreed to appoint a person of impeccable character as the NAB chairman.
He was talking to different delegations at his constituency Samar Bagh in Dir on Thursday.
Siraj said that in the prevailing situation, NAB’s responsibilities had increased two fold and in the coming days, it would have to deal with hundreds of more cases as had been lying totally neglected.
He said that although NAB was required to play the leading role in the elimination of corruption. He said almost all intuitions including the Supreme Court had expressed total dissatisfaction over NAB’s performance and the apex court had even termed it as facilitator of the corrupt.
However, he expressed the hope that things would improve in future and the country’s economy and the democratic system would strengthen. He said the JIs drive against corruption had created an awakening among the masses and they would not tolerate corrupt rulers any more.
Sirajul Haq said that during the 1980s’, Pakistan had protected her own solidarity by supporting the Afghans against Soviet invasion and had thus defended her own borders. However, he said, later, the western powers maneuvered a civil war among the Afghans and caused them great harm.
He said that peaceful Afghanistan was imperative for peace in Pakistan. He said it was unfortunate to repent over the great sacrifices of the great Pakistani nation spread over three decades. He further said that a split in the opposite ion on this issue would benefit the government alone.
Published in Daily Times, September 29th 2017.
