News
Friday, October 11, 2013
PTI rejects new NAB chief* Party alleges appointment result of deal between PML-N and PPP
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has rejected the National Accountability Bureau chairman-designate, saying he is highly unsuited to this position.
“Clearly, this appointment has been the result of a ‘muk muka’ between the PML-N and PPP, done in haste and/or under unknown pressures that PTI demands be made public,” PTI Central Information Secretary Dr Shireen Mazari said on Thursday. Explaining the justification to seek the details of this deal, the PTI leader said that the manner in which this appointment was made was neither in keeping with the spirit of the NAB Ordinance nor completely legal.
The NAB Ordinance of 1999 as it stands today states: A person shall not be appointed as chairman NAB unless he (i) is a retired chief justice or a judge of the Supreme Court or a chief justice of a high court, or (ii) is a retired officer of the armed forces of Pakistan equivalent to the rank of a lieutenant general; or (iii) is a retired federal government officer in BPS 22 or equivalent.
Mazari said Qamar Zaman had applied for retirement after the announcement of his appointment as NAB chairman, and the process was hastily completed within 24 hours. She said this was done to defeat the letter and spirit of the law. There exists a contempt notice of the Supreme Court against Qamar Zaman, which states: “In order to meet the ends of justice, we find it necessary to issue notices under Section 17 (1) of the Contempt of Court (Ordinance V) of 2003, to Qamar Zaman Ch, Secretary, Ministry of Interior, Abdul Rauf Ch Secretary, Establishment Division, and Khushnood Lashari, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, for wilful defiance of the orders of this Court passed on 24.1.2011.”
Besides, Qamar Zaman was one of the six directors of NICL whose case was taken up by the Supreme Court. Three properties were purchased – one each in Lahore, Karachi and Dubai – and billions were made. All directors of the NICL were issued arrest warrants, except Qamar Zaman, although he had taken part in the decisions because he was then interior secretary. Two of the directors are absconding and three are on bail. In the minutes of the 59th meeting he was not present but all these decisions were confirmed in the 60th meeting and he was thoroughly briefed on the three scandalous purchases, which he appreciated.
Furthermore, Maj Qamar Zaman was ADC to Ziaul Haq; and Brig Tirmizi, in his book “Profiles of Intelligence”, writes on pages 323 to 325 about him on how he got a quota to send workers abroad and made good money out of it. The corruption report was given to Zia and Qamar Zaman was taken out of this sensitive position, transferred to DMG group and made deputy commissioner.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk