ISLAMABAD, July 26: The National Accountability Bureau suspended its operations on Tuesday following the lapse of a 30-day deadline given by the Supreme Court to the government to appoint the bureau's chairman or wind up the organisation.

“We have stopped all NAB operations but some administrative matters are being run only to give salaries to NAB staff,” a senior NAB officer told Dawn.

The Supreme Court's 30-day deadline ended on July 20, but the government sought more time to fill the post of the NAB chairman.

The government, while ignoring the deadline, had pleaded before the Supreme Court that it could not appoint the NAB chairman unless the court decided its review petition in which the removal of the former NAB chief Justice (retd) Deedar Hussain Shah was challenged.

However, the Supreme Court had rejected on Monday the government's plea and ordered that now the June 21 judgment of the apex court would prevail (under which the 30-day deadline was given).

“We are not entertaining any new application for inquiry of any new case and thus no new reference is being sent to the court,” the NAB official said.

Meanwhile, the government is making no effort to fulfil the constitutional requirement for the appointment of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman despite the lapse of the 30-day deadline given to the government by the Supreme Court.

Under the NAB ordinance and directives of the apex court, the government was bound to consult with Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan for appointment of NAB chairman.

“We have not been consulted so far by the government for the appointment of the NAB chief even after the announcement of the new judgment of the court,” PML-Nawaz leader Siddiqul Farooq said.

“The government is not ready to fulfil the constitutional requirement,” he said.

Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said on Monday that the conduct of the federation in the case was casual and non-serious as neither the federal government filed the appeal to suspend the order nor filed a review petition against the June 21 judgment.

According to the apex court's June 21 judgment, after the dismissal of the federal government's application, the National Accountability Bureau has practically ceased to exist or function under the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.

The court in its verdict had stated that if the government failed to appoint the NAB chairman within a month, the deputy chairman would automatically lose powers of the chairman and the federal government would be responsible for the situation.

“If in such an eventuality the National Accountability Bureau practically ceases to exist or function under the National Accountability Ordinance, then the blame shall rest squarely upon shoulders of the federal government,” the court had observed in the June 21 verdict.

Sources in the law ministry said that the ministry had sent a summary to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani for appointment of a retired judge of Supreme Court, Justice (retd) Muhammad Sardar Raza Khan, as the NAB chairman, but he could not be appointed as the government did not consult with the leader of the opposition in this regard.

“We are awaiting a decision to be taken by the prime minister on the issue,” the law ministry's adviser Farooq Awan said.