ISLAMABAD: A three-member Supreme Court bench on Friday directed the federation to avoid delaying tactics and ensure presence of its counsel Abdul Hafeez Pirzada on the next hearing or engage another lawyer to plead the petitions challenging the appointment of Justice (r) Deedar Hussain Shah as National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman.
When the bench, comprising Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, took up challenges to the appointment of NAB’s chairman, Advocate-on-Record (AOR) MS Khattak sought adjournment of the matter stating that the federation’s counsel, Pirzada, was unable to appear as he was abroad.
Justice Iqbal observed that the government should hire another counsel to plead the case instead of using delaying tactics. He directed the AOR to make arrangements to hire another counsel if Pirzada did not return within the fortnight.
He said the court wanted to conduct the proceeding on a daily basis and would not grant further adjournment. Justice Khawaja said the lawyer whose case was fixed before the court, must ensure his presence. Meanwhile, the court adjourned the matter for two weeks asking the attorney general to assist it in the matter as it involved interpretation of a number of constitutional provisions.
On the last hearing, the court had summoned newly-appointed NAB Chairman Justice (r) Shah and Attorney General Moulvi Anwarul Haq. It had directed the AG to assist it in finding whether NAB rules were bypassed in the appointment of Justice (r) Shah or not.
“We feel inclined to issue notices to respondents to consider as to whether the appointment of the NAB chairman was made in accordance with Section 6 of the NAB Ordinance,” the court had said while hearing two identical petitions filed by Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Nisar Ali Khan and a freelance journalist, Shahid Orakzai, against the NAB chairman appointment.
The federal government, through the Law Ministry, the establishment secretary and the NAB chairman, has been made respondent in the pleas.
