National Accountability Bureau (NAB).—File Photo

ISLAMABAD: Additional Attorney General Karim Khan Agha has been appointed as the prosecutor general of National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

According to a notification, the appointment was made after consultations between President Asif Ali Zardari and NAB Chairman Admiral (retd) Faseeh Bokhari.

The office was lying vacant since December when the-then prosecutor general, Irfan Qadir, resigned on the orders of Supreme Court.

The appointment is seen by several experts as yet another attempt on the part of the government to delay its review petition pending before the apex court against the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance in which Mr Agha was also appearing.

According to the National Accountability Ordinance, the president in consultation with the NAB chairman may appoint any person who is qualified to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court as the NAB’s prosecutor general.

Mr Agha is a barrister with almost 25 years of legal experience and is an advocate of the SC. He has served as a United Nations Prosecutor in the Netherlands and Africa after he did his LLM in the International Criminal Law.

He has served as additional judge of the Sindh High Court and then as additional attorney general of Pakistan for almost two years.

He represented the federal government and assisted the apex court in some notable cases such as the petitions against the 18th Amendment, the missing persons’ cases and loan write-off cases.

He is regarded as a credible and highly competent lawyer whose appointment has been well received by the legal community but termed a loss to the attorney general’s office.

Opinion

Enter the deputy PM

Enter the deputy PM

Clearly, something has changed since for this step to have been taken and there are shifts in the balance of power within.

Editorial

All this talk
Updated 30 Apr, 2024

All this talk

The other parties are equally legitimate stakeholders in the country’s political future, and it must give them due consideration.
Monetary policy
30 Apr, 2024

Monetary policy

ALIGNING its decision with the trend in developed economies, the State Bank has acted wisely by holding its key...
Meaningless appointment
30 Apr, 2024

Meaningless appointment

THE PML-N’s policy of ‘family first’ has once again triggered criticism. The party’s latest move in this...
Weathering the storm
Updated 29 Apr, 2024

Weathering the storm

Let 2024 be the year when we all proactively ensure that our communities are safeguarded and that the future is secure against the inevitable next storm.
Afghan repatriation
29 Apr, 2024

Afghan repatriation

COMPARED to the roughshod manner in which the caretaker set-up dealt with the issue, the elected government seems a...
Trying harder
29 Apr, 2024

Trying harder

IT is a relief that Pakistan managed to salvage some pride. Pakistan had taken the lead, then fell behind before...