ISLAMABAD: The National Accounta­bility Bureau (NAB) is at loggerheads with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) over the appointment of former deputy attorney general Shah Khawar as the bureau’s special prosecutor.

NAB issued on Tuesday a notification about appointment of Shah Khawar because NAB Chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal is said to be competent enough to make such an appointment.

But Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, who is a senior leader of the PML-N, slammed the NAB decision, claiming that Mr Khawar had political affiliation with the main opposition Pakistan Peoples Party. According to NAB, Mr Khawar will represent the bureau in the Supreme Court that is currently hearing a NAB appeal challenging the Lahore High Court’s order in the Hudaibya Paper Mills reference.

NAB has already sent to the law division a summary containing the names of five people for the post of prosecutor general which has been lying vacant for over two weeks after the three-year term of Waqas Qadeer Dar expired on Nov 23. Shah Khawar is also among the five nominees and now it is believed that the new prosecutor general will be one of the four probables — Nasir Saeed Sheikh, Fasihul Mulk, Syed Asghar Haider and Mudassar Khalid Abbasi.

Rana Sanaullah claims Shah Khawar has affiliation with PPP

A source in the law ministry told Dawn that the appointment of the new prosecutor general was expected within the next 24 hours. He said the government had indirectly informed NAB that it could not consider Nasir Saeed Sheikh and Fasihul Mulk for the post because both were said to be overage.

However, there is no such bar on age under the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999.

NAB is at present pursuing important cases against ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and members of his family, as well as former finance minister Ishaq Dar. According to sources, the cases, including Hudaibya Papers Mills, are being heard in various courts without a senior prosecutor, thus appointment of a prosecutor general is vital for pursuing such cases.

A press release issued by NAB said the bureau had been facing difficulty in following its cases due to the absence of a prosecutor general. “Since important cases are being heard in the Supreme Court and the accountability court in Islamabad, the bureau decided to appoint a special prosecutor instead of waiting for the post of prosecutor general to be filled,” it said.

The appointment of Shah Khawar came a day after the apex court dismissed a NAB application seeking adjournment of proceedings in the Hudaibya Paper Mills reference till the appointment of a prosecutor general. The court observed that the seat of prosecutor general being vacant did not suffice as grounds for adjournment.

When asked if the government had any objection to the appointment of Mr Khawar, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Law Barrister Zafarullah told Dawn that he could not comment on the matter. However, he said: “It is an internal matter of NAB.”

He revealed that the NAB summary about the appointment of prosecutor general was under study and a decision on it would be made soon.

Rana Sanaullah said the appointment of Shah Khawar as special prosecutor in the Hudaibya Paper Mills reference was against legal requirements.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2017