News
Sunday, October 10, 2010
NAB chief’s appointment challenged* Petitioner says Deedar ineligible as he was elected MPA twice on PPP ticket, defended Zardari in corruption cases as lawyer
Staff Report
LAHORE: Barrister Iqbal Jaffree on Saturday moved a petition before the Lahore High Court (LHC), challenging the appointment of Justice (r) Syed Deedar Hussain as the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman.
Jaffree submitted that Deedar was not competent for the post and his appointment was against the constitution because as according to the 18th Amendment, consultation with the chief justice of Pakistan and the opposition parties was necessary for this appointment.
He claimed that 15 constitutional clauses had been violated in the appointment of Deedar. He said Deedar had been elected MPA twice on the Pakistan People’s Party ticket and he had defended President Zardari in corruption cases as a lawyer, which was not a qualification to hold the office.
The petitioner alleged that the appointment of Deedar as the NAB chairman was politically motivated because it was not made on merit. The petitioner stated that he was more educated than Deedar and he had formally applied for the post 15 years ago and he was on merit. He requested the court to declare the appointment of Deedar as unconstitutional.
President Zardari had appointed Deedar as the NAB chairman on Friday. Deedar had served as the Sindh High Court chief justice and later was elevated to the Supreme Court and is the first NAB chairman from judiciary.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk