ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Wednesday reiterated that Prime Minister Imran Khan will not consult Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif over the appointment of Chairman NAB.
This was reiterated by Minister for Law Farogh Naseem and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry during a press conference.
“Prime Minister Imran Khan will never consult Shehbaz Sharif over NAB chairman’s appointment. if Shehbaz Sharif had a degree of shame he would resign as Opposition leader himself,” said Fawad.
Naseem said that when he called for consultation with the opposition leader, he was referring to the position rather than Shehbaz Sharif. He also denied impression that there is a difference in his stance and the information minister.
Farogh Naseem said that it was unfortunate that the opposition was doing politics on the NAB ordinance. He said that the prime minister will not be holding any consultations with the opposition leader and the president will be facilitating the discussion.
“If no consensus is reached between them, the matter will then be sent to a parliamentary committee,” he said, adding the body would be formed by the National Assembly’s speaker comprising six members each from opposition and treasury.
He said no decision has been made yet over whether retired Justice Javed Iqbal will be appointed but the government, including the cabinet and the prime minister, wants a wider selection. He further said they would decide over the names of the incumbent and former chairmen of the NAB for the post.
Regarding the NAB ordinance, Farogh Naseem the trial court has been given the authority to grant bail to suspects in accountability cases. The law minister further said that even people opting to voluntarily return the money would also be disqualified after plea bargain for ten years.
