Appointment of NAB chief Nisar suggests selection from panel of candidates through consensus
ISLAMABAD: Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has suggested drawing up a panel of candidates mutually, out of whom the name for NAB Chairman should be selected through purposive, meaningful and consensus-oriented consultation.
On Friday, Nisar released the letter to media he wrote to President Asif Ali Zardari regarding the appointment of new National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman.
He referred to various Supreme Court verdicts, suggesting meaningful, purposive and consensus-oriented consultation for appointment of Chairman NAB.
Following is the text of the letter, he sent to the President on Thursday:
"With reference to your letter dated October 8, 2011, without expressing an opinion on the suitability or otherwise of the proposed nominee mentioned in your letter, would like to point out as under:
I have repeatedly suggested (letters dated September 23 and 24, 2010 to the
Prime Minister and letter dated March 21, 2011 by my Secretary to your Secretary refer) that a panel of possible candidates for Chairman should he drawn up mutually in the first instance which can then be discussed through a participatory consultative process to facilitate development of a consensus amongst the consultees.
Such consensus is a necessity in the light of the judgment dated March 10, 2011 of the august Supreme Court of Pakistan in Constitutional Petitions 60 and 61 of 2010 (Justice Deedar Husain Shah case) wherein it has been held that "the spirit of such consultation appears to be that it should aim at developing a consensus and it should manifestly be shown that a serious, sincere and genuine effort is made towards evolving a consensus because otherwise the consultation would neither be meaningful nor purposive nor consensus-oriented.
A panel of possible candidates is also necessary for purposes of consultation with the Chief Justice of Pakistan in respect of the appointment of Chairman NAB, as recommended by the august Supreme Court of Pakistan in Asfandyar Wali Khan and others v. Federation of Pakistan and others, Dr. Mobashir Hasan and others v. Federation of Pakistan and others, Bank of Punjab v. Haris Steel Industries (Pvt) Ltd., and others and forcefully reiterated in the latest judgment referred to above.
One of the four major points of dispute between the Government and the opposition regarding the holders of Public Office (Accountability) Bill which is pending before the National Assembly Standing Committee for Law and Justice for nearly two and half years relates to the qualification for appointment of the Chairman of the proposed new National Accountability Commission.
The Government Bill provides that the Chairman should be a person who is, or has been, a Judge of the Supreme Court or is qualified to be appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court. PML-N's view is that the Chairman should be a serving judge of the Supreme Court. The fact that the Government has proposed the appointment of a person (who is not a judge nor qualified to be a judge) is contradictory to its own position. It appears that the Government has no intention to pass the new accountability law.
Mr. President, if the objective of the entire exercise is to select a nominee with impeccable reputation, integrity and credibility and unquestionable impartiality, there is no reason whatsoever for hesitation on the part of the Government to engage with the opposition in a thorough, concrete and meaningful consultation.
In the light of the above, I am of the view that a panel of possible candidates should be drawn up mutually and the nominee finalized after meaningful, purposive and consensus-oriented consultation," the letter concluded.