ISLAMABAD: The new chairman of the National Accountability Bureau, Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari, is facing a challenge regarding the appointment of a prosecutor general for the bureau.

The status of dysfunctional prosecutor general Irfan Qadir, who had submitted his resignation in December last year, is still uncertain since there has been no official confirmation whether it has been accepted by President Asif Ali Zardari or not.

A senior official of the NAB told Dawn on Thursday that the presence of a prosecutor general is mandatory because even the NAB chairman could not execute some specific cases of corruption without consulting him.

Under the NAB 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 prosecutor general (accountability).

“The Prosecutor General [Accountability] shall give advice to the chairman NAB upon such legal matters and perform such other duties of a legal character as may be referred or assigned to him by the Chairman NAB and in the performance of his duties, he shall have the right of audience in all courts established under this Ordinance and all other courts [including the Supreme Court],” the ordinance said.

A source in the law ministry said former law minister Babar Awan had been trying to get one of his close friends appointed as prosecutor general.

The Presidency’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar said the president had so far not given any instructions for the appointment of the NAB prosecutor general.

Although the Supreme Court and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had ordered removal of Irfan Qadir, no official notification to the effect was issued by the law ministry or the establishment division.

On Sept 1, the apex court had declared the appointment of Mr Qadir illegal and ordered his removal.

A day after Mr Qadir’s outburst in the Supreme Court that he would not step down, the prime minister had ordered withdrawal of his privileges.

Mr Gilani had said that the Supreme Court’s orders would be implemented in letter and spirit and that he had issued orders to the law secretary in this regard.

But Mr Qadir asserted that he was bound by the orders issued only by the president and not the prime minister because the former was the appointing authority.

The court order had said that Mr Qadir served as prosecutor general for three years and he could not get any extension.

However, Mr Qadir was of the view that he had served in the NAB from 2003 to 2006 and the second appointment was a fresh one.