Zahir Shah appointed acting NAB chairman

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Saturday appointed Zahir Shah as acting National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman, ARY News reported.

According to a notification issued from the body, Shah will serve as the head of the NAB until the next chairman is appointed.

“In pursuance of the proviso[n] to Section 6(b)(v) of amended NAO 1999, Mr Zahir Shah, shall act as Chairman, National Accountability Bureau, with effect from 22-02-2023 and till the appointment of new chairman, under the ordinance,” said the notification.

In October 2021, Zahir Shah was appointed deputy chairman of the NAB who oversees the organisation’s administration.

On February 22, Aftab Sultan resigned as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman citing personal reasons. Sultan had presented his resignation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“The prime minister appreciated the services of Aftab Sultan and lauded his honesty and uprightness. Upon his insistence, the prime minister reluctantly accepted the resignation of Sultan,” said the PM Office.

Sources revealed that Aftab Sultan resigned from his office after “he was asked to do certain things which were not acceptable to him.”

Sources further disclosed that Sultan had some reservations over National Accountability (Amendment) Act, 2022 which has limited the anti-corruption watchdog’s powers.

Aftab Sultan, former Director General (DG) of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), was appointed as chairman National Accountability Bureau last year in July by the PDM government. He had replaced Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, who remained NAB chairman for four years and three months.