IT feels as if the post had become nearly synonymous with retired justice Javed Iqbal. So full of controversy was his nearly five-year tenure as chief of the National Accountability Bureau that it seemed he didn’t spend a week out of the media limelight. Yet all things must come to an end, and Mr Iqbal’s bombastic run as NAB chairman ended last month with barely a whimper. The incumbent government and its self-chosen opposition leader have now appointed in his stead former IB chief Aftab Sultan. Mr Sultan was generally well-regarded and considered a professional bureaucrat before his retirement as a BS-22 officer of the Police Service of Pakistan. However, he mostly served on posts that generally operate away from the public eye — very unlike the post of chairman NAB, which is hyper-exposed to both the media and public scrutiny. He will, therefore, have to strive anew to establish himself as an even-handed, unbiased head of an institution that has earned great notoriety for its repeated failures to act without prejudice. The resurgent PTI, which focuses most of its politics on accountability, remains out of parliament and therefore had little say in his appointment. It will likely fight tooth and nail if and when it finds reason to attack Mr Sultan’s integrity. It is critical, that he tread with care and, of course, without prejudice.

Accountability has been turned into a travesty in Pakistan due to the repeated failure of responsible officials and institutions to successfully investigate and prosecute corruption and graft. Instead, it has come to stand for underhanded tactics used to soil the reputation of bitter political opponents or those who have fallen afoul of the powers that be and ensnare them in endless and frustrating legal cases. It is time that this serious issue stopped being dealt with so frivolously. The new NAB chief will need to introduce a culture of constant diligence and respect for due process if he is to return any credibility to NAB.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2022