ISLAMABAD – Former chief justice of Pakistan Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal on Wednesday assumed charge as head of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) by replacing outgoing chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry.
Government and opposition after consultation picked the name of Iqbal, who was among three candidates proposed by the opposition leader in National Assembly Khursheed Shah after consulting with other parties except the PTI.
Talking to media outside the parliament, he vowed to take all the NAB cases to logical conclusion. It is notable that among other high profile cases the anti-graft watchdog is investigating the cases against Sharif family.
Regarding his appointment, the government issued a notification on October 8 as stating, “The President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan is pleased to appoint Mr Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, a retired Judge of the Supreme Court as Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after consultation with the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly”.
Justice (r) Iqbal was appointed as a Supreme Court justice in 2000 and retired in 2011. In 2007, he had been sacked by Pervez Musharraf after he refused to take oath under Provisional Constitutional Order; however, reinstated in 2009.
He headed the Abbottabad Inquiry Commission, formed to probe the controversial raid by US Special Forces which led to the killing of wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden.
The commission investigated and reported the circumstances surrounding the May 2011 raid at a compound in Abbottabad.
The commission interviewed over 300 witnesses and gave 200 recommendations in its 700-page report to the prime minister. The report was immediately classified, but a version was leaked by an international news network.
