Govt returns favour, appoints PPP nominee as anti-graft chief

• Rest of opposition tight-lipped over appointment of Javed Iqbal
• PTI leader Hamid Khan says decision neither good nor bad

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain has appointed Justice (r) Javed Iqbal, a former judge of the Supreme Court, the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), says a notification released by the Ministry of Law and Justice on Sunday.

According to the notification, Justice (r) Javed Iqbal has been appointed the NAB chief for a non-extendable period of four years from the date he assumes the charge of the office. “In exercise of the powers conferred upon Section 6(b) of National Accountability Ordinance 1999, the President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan is pleased to appoint Justice (r) Javed Iqbal, a retired judge of the Supreme Court as the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after consultation with the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly for a non-extendable period of four years from the date he assumes the charge of the office,” reads the notification.

Justice (r) Javed Iqbal was among one of the names proposed by the Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) for the top slot, and the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) ratified it. Earlier in the day Opposition Leader in National Assembly Khursheed Shah perhaps in a bid to remove the impression of an underhand deal between the PML-N and PPP told journalists in Sukkur that he convinced Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to appoint the former Supreme Court judge as the head of the anti-graft body. “Four meetings have been held in this regard… it was necessary to give a name because Sunday was the deadline,” he said.

PTI, MQM CAUTIOUS; NO IMMEDIATE REACTION

No quick reaction came from the other opposition parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Mutahidda Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and others.

“Since it’s a sensitive matter, the senior leadership will meet and discuss the issue, followed by a response,” he added. The MQM, JI and other parties, however, remained tight-lipped on the development.

ANOTHER MUK-MUKA?

The nomination of Justice (r) Javed Iqbal is in the same pattern adopted by both the PPP and PML-N four years back in October 2013 when the then-opposition party, PML-N, had named the incumbent outgoing NAB chief Qamar Zaman Chaudhry and the PPP had ratified the nomination. The pattern reflects that the PML-N has now returned the four-year-old favour by endorsing the PPP’s nomination.

However, this could be good news for the new nominee, as there was no immediate rejection by the opposition parties. Four years back, the PTI, Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) and JI had instantly rejected the nomination of Qamar Zaman and called it a ‘shifty deal’ between the N-League and PPP. The PTI also had then vowed to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

The new NAB chairman has tough challenges ahead as the NAB is dealing with high-profile corruption cases of the country’s political history. Moreover, the outgoing NAB chief has left a credibility deficit for Justice (r) Javed Iqbal as the Supreme Court had shown reservations on NAB’s performance during the Panama Papers case.

He will have to take up the cases related to the Sharif family ie, assets beyond the known sources of income, corruption and concealment of assets following the Supreme Court’s July 28 verdict in the Panama Papers case. However, Javed Iqbal’s previous portfolio as a Supreme Court judge comes handy and he can prove to be a positive influence in reviving Supreme Court’s trust in the NAB.

It may be mentioned here that the Supreme Court had expressed lack of confidence in Qamar Zaman Chaudhry as the NAB chairman when he refused to file a petition in the apex court against Nawaz Sharif in the Hudaibiya Papers Mills case.

The following day, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed told Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali Khan that NAB Chairman Qamar Zaman had tried to offer an insurance policy for the ousted prime minister, adding that “the NAB had passed away for us the day before.”

JURISTS NOT THRILLED ON JAVED’S NOMINATION

Justice (r) Wajihuddin Ahmed said that Justice (r) Javed Iqbal was serving in the Balochistan High Court when he used to serve in the Supreme Court. “We have seen him as chairing a number of enquiry commissions, including the Bin Laden commission and the commission formed on missing persons,” he said.

“As they say the proof of the pudding is in the eating, it is up to Javed Iqbal now to perform and respond to his critics,” he added.

“Justice Javed Iqbal’s past record is inconsistent. He had taken over as the acting chief justice soon after Musharraf sacked CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry; later he switched sides again. His past suggests he is a compromising personality,” he added.

Hamid Khan said keeping in view the challenges ahead for the NAB chief, the nominee must have been an uncompromising personality who firmly believed in the rule of law. Asked if the NAB chief’s nomination is bad news for the country, he said, “It is not good news either.”

BIOGRAPHY

Justice (r) Javed Iqbal, 71, served as a senior justice of the Supreme Court in 2004 till his retirement in 2011. Prior to his appointment in the Supreme Court, Justice Iqbal headed the Balochistan High Court for only a month. During his career as a jurist, Iqbal has heard and led high-profile cases, including the suspension of fellow chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and trial of missing persons in 2012.

On the basis of his credentials, he was also elected the chairman of the Abbottabad Commission, established to ascertain the preludes and causes of the US commandoes’ raid in 2011 that resulted in the killing of Osama Bin Laden. After a thorough examination, Justice Iqbal submitted a report to the prime minister in 2013.

In 1999, Javed Iqbal was one of the judges in the country who retook their oaths under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) in the aftermath of the military coup staged by the then army chief General (r) Pervez Musharraf. Following the oath, he was appointed as the Balochistan High Court chief justice on February 4, 2000; however, this promotion was short-lived as Justice Iqbal was elevated to the Supreme Court on April 28, 2000.

When the presidential reference against the then chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was filed on March 9, 2007, Iqbal served as the acting chief justice of Pakistan from March 9, 2007, to March 23, 2007. Iqbal on November 3, 2007, refused to take an oath on PCO; therefore, he was removed from the Supreme Court along with 11 other judges. On March 17, 2009, following the success of lawyers’ movement for the restoration of judiciary, Justice Iqbal was restored to his former position on November 2, 2007.

In 2005, Javed Iqbal was one of the members of the Supreme Court bench, which unanimously dismissed all petitions challenging the 17th Amendment and the dual office of Pervez Musharraf as the army chief and president. He was again a member of the bench which, on September 28, 2007, formed a majority opinion in holding the petition challenging General (r) Pervez Musharraf’s candidature for a second term as the president as non-maintainable.

On November 3, 2007, Iqbal was the member of the seven-member bench headed by CJP Iftikhar Chaudhry that unanimously declared the 2007 Pakistani state of emergency as illegal and passed an order restraining all judges of the Supreme Court and high courts from taking oath under the PCO.