SC orders appointment of judges at NAB courts

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the federal government to ensure the appointment of judges at accountability courts across the country.

A bench of the apex court, headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, gave this direction while hearing a case pertaining to the appointment of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor general.

The court sought a report on the appointment of the secretary of the Law Division in two weeks.

Report regarding the appointment of the NAB prosecutor general (PG) is also directed to be submitted within a week.

The attorney general (AG), during the hearing, informed the bench that the posting of a judge in the Islamabad Accountability Court will be done in 10 days, adding that the PG NAB will be appointed in a week.

The AG further said that the chief justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) will be consulted regarding the appointment of accountability court judges.

He told the court that the IHC chief justice has not yet been given potential judges’ names for the Islamabad accountability courts, lamenting that it was unfortunate that the country lacked any policy.

He observed that the bureau’s prosecution department was suffering due to the absence of the prosecutor general, adding that authorities were dragging their feet to fill the post to benefit someone.

Justice Gulzar said that there should be a practice of nominating a judge two months before the outgoing judge relinquished charge.