Names emerge for NAB chairman slot

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government has started consultation on the names for the slot of NAB chairman, it emerged Tuesday.

According to sources, the coalition government is considering the names of Azam Suleman and Irfan Elahi for the coveted post.

Irfan Elahi is former federal secretary and had worked as chairman planning and department.

The other candidate Azam Suleman Khan is a retired Pakistani civil servant who is currently serving as the Ombudsman of Punjab. He previously served in BPS-22 grade as the Interior Secretary of Pakistan, Chief Secretary Punjab and as Chief Secretary Sindh.

The final decision on the Nab chairman slot would be made after consulting with the coalition partners of the government.

The development comes hours after Aftab Sultan resigned as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman citing personal reasons.

Sultan had presented his resignation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office stated.

“The prime minister appreciated the services of Aftab Sultan and lauded his honesty and uprightness. Upon his insistence, the prime minister reluctantly accepted the resignation of Sultan,” said the PM Office.

Sources revealed that Aftab Sultan resigned from his office after “he was asked to do certain things which were not acceptable to him.”

Sources further disclosed that Sultan had some reservations over National Accountability (Amendment) Act, 2022 which has limited the anti-corruption watchdog’s powers.

Aftab Sultan, former Director General (DG) of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), was appointed as chairman National Accountability Bureau last year in July by the PDM government. He had replaced Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, who remained NAB chairman for four years and three months.

Sultan belonged to the police service and retired in BPS-22. He remained appointed to the top slots including as intelligence bureau (IB) chief during PPP and PML-N tenures besides also serving as DIG Sargodha during Pervez Musharraf’s period.