ISLAMABAD – Imran Shafique, special prosecutor with National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Rawalpindi, tendered his resignation on Tuesday citing ‘personal reasons’.
In his resignation submitted to the prosecutor general of the anti-graft body on Tuesday, Shafique said his service with NAB has been a great and profound learning experience and that he ‘ tried to perform duties to the best of his abilities’.
Shafique represented NAB as a prosecution team member in the Panama Papers cases and as a lead prosecutor in the reference against former finance minister Ishaq Dar; he was also assigned the task of conducting appeals against the acquittal of former president Asif Ali Zardari.
“On account of some personal reasons, I find myself unable to continue with NAB any further, thus constrained to tender instant resignation,” Shafique stated in his resignation letter.
The NAB official also highlighted that he was successful in confiscating the properties of Ishaq Dar.
‘In my earnest estimation, my job to the extend of Mr Muhammad Ishaq Dar stands accomplished, until the accused is arrested and taken back to the country in future,’ Shafique stated in his instant resignation.
The NAB officer stated that he was still available for assistance in the Ishaq Dar case even after leaving the accountability watchdog adding that he was eager to join the bar as an independent profesional lawyer to play a part in easing the frustration faced by the ordinary litigants.
Though Shafique cited personal reasons as a reason behind leaving the post, sources claim that Shafique was taking a tough stance in the Islamabad High Court over the dual nationality of PM’s adviser Zulfi Bukhari whihc led to his ouster from NAB.
The special prosecutor was summoned to the NAB headquarters after the hearing and asked to resign, Geo News reported.
On the other hand, a NAB spokesman said the anti-graft body had not yet received Shafique’s resignation.
