Ex-DG NAB Musaddiq Abbasi appointed PM's adviser on accountability

The government has appointed the former director-general of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Brig (Retd) Musaddiq Abbasi as the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability and interior.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 93 of the Constitution [...], the president, on the advice of the prime minister, has been pleased to appoint Brig (retired) Musaddiq Abbasi as adviser to the prime minister on accountability and interior with immediate effect,” a notification issued by the Cabinet Division said.

The development comes days after Mirza Shahzad Akbar stepped down as the prime minister’s adviser on accountability and interior.

Akbar announced his resignation in a Twitter post on Monday but said that he will remain associated with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

“I have tendered my resignation today to Prime Minister as Advisor. I sincerely hope the process of accountability continues under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan as per PTI’s manifesto. I will remain associated with the party and keep contributing as a member of the legal fraternity,” he tweeted.

Akbar did not mention any reason for his resignation. However, sources said that he resigned from his post after Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed dissatisfaction with his performance.

A former deputy prosecutor for the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Akbar was appointed as the special assistant to the prime minister on accountability and interior in August 2018.

Akbar was promoted to an adviser to the prime minister on accountability and interior with the status of a state minister in July 2020.

He was also the chairman of the Asset Recovery Unit (ARU) that was formed in 2018 to suggest ways and legal means to bring back looted money stashed abroad as well as probe properties owned by Pakistanis in foreign countries.