ISLAMABAD: The new chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), retired Major Qamar Zaman Chaudhry, assumed charge of his office on Friday, and coincidentally, an accountability court reopened six cases against former president Asif Zardari.

The cases had remained dormant because of immunity enjoyed by Mr Zardari during his presidential tenure.

With the appointment of Mr Chaudhry, some politicians have said, cases against top leaders of the PML-N and the PPP will remain dormant because they will not be pursued by NAB.

Former presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar claimed there was no case pending against Mr Zardari because he had been acquitted in all cases. But if the NAB reopened any case against him, the PPP would face it, he added.

The new chairman will also have to decide about pending references, including Rs22 billion Rental Power Projects scam and Rs82 billion Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority scandal. The references are against former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf.