ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Sunday promulgated an ordinance providing for the appointment of two deputy chairmen in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). A source in NAB, however, told Dawn that a second deputy chairman had already been appointed in the first week of November.

Under article 89 of the Constitution, the president amended the NAB Ordinance 1999.

The text of the ordinance said that the National Assembly was not in session and the president was satisfied that circumstances existed which rendered it necessary to immediate action.

“In the NAB Ordinance 1999, section (7) and sub-section (a), for the words ‘a deputy chairman’ the words ‘two deputy chairmen’ shall be substituted and for the words ‘The Deputy Chairman’ the words ‘The Deputy Chairmen’ shall be substituted,” the amendment said.

The second deputy chairman, Hassan Wasim Afzal, was appointed early last month. Lt-Gen Muhammad Siddique was appointed first deputy chairman of NAB a couple of months ago. The post was lying vacant since the establishment of the bureau.