LAHORE
A petition moved the Lahore High Court sought directives to stop the federal government from filling the vacant slot of Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) till final adjudication of a plea against appointment of National Assembly Opposition Leader Raja Riaz Ahmad.
It is Pertinent to mention that soon after Aftab Sultan resigned as Chairman NAB the top anti-graft body appointed Zahir Shah as its acting chairman on February 24.
On Thursday, a single-member bench of the LHC comprising Justice Muhammad Raza Qureshi was hearing the plea of a citizen, Munir Ahmed, in the matter. During the hearing the bench was apprised the counsel for the petitioner unable to appear. To which the court directed the office to club the petition in hand with the case in which appointment of Raja Riaz as Opposition Leader in the Lower House has been challenged in the LHC.
Making the federal government and others as respondents in the matter, the petitioner submitted that the NAB chairman is to be appointed in consultation with the prime minister and the Opposition Leader.
He further informed the court that a plea challenging nomination of the Opposition Leader in the Lower House was pending in the LHC, claiming situation in the National Assembly was also changing, resultantly, Leader of the Opposition may be changed.
In his petition, he claimed that consultation with the opposition leader over appointment of the NAB chairman would be meaningless and illegal in the prevailing circumstances. Under the facts, he prayed the court that process for appointing new NAB chairman should be stopped until the final decision about the Opposition Leader. TLTP
