News
Sunday, October 10, 2010
President used discretionary powers to appoint NAB chief* Prime minister says he consulted opposition leader twice
* Sent note of dissent of opposition leader to president
By Ali Hussain
MURREE: The appointment of chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was done through discretionary powers of the president and he exercised this power and appointed Justice (r) Deedar Hussain Shah, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Saturday.
Talking to reporters on the Founder’s Day of Lawrence College Ghora Gali, Gilani said after instructions from President Asif Ali Zardari, opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had been consulted twice on the issue of appointment of the NAB chairman. He said names of Deedar and Mukhtar Junejo had been presented to the opposition leader but he rejected both of them. He said he had sent the opposition leader’s note of dissent to the president after the former rejected the proposed names. Gilani said President Zardari used his constitutional and discretionary powers in appointing the NAB chairman. When asked about the appointment being challenged in Lahore High Court by the opposition, the PM said the opposition had the right to do so.
Reshuffle: To a question, he said during his recent meeting with the president and the army chief, the latter did not talk about reshuffling of the federal cabinet. The PM denied that the army chief raised the issue of changes in the cabinet during the meeting, adding that these changes would be made if needed. To anther question, Gilani said that he had yet to receive the list of NRO beneficiaries from the Establishment Division. He said if and when received, it would be put before the cabinet and presented to the apex court.
Regarding the issue of passage of the Sacked Employees (Reinstatement) Bill, he said that the bill had been passed unanimously by the National Assembly.
Earlier, the PM said retrogressive forces were adamant to “snatch from us our values, our traditions and our identity”. “It goes without saying that terrorism and extremism constitute the daunting challenge for our state and society,” he added.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk