ISLAMABAD: Justice Syed Asghar Haider joined the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday as Prosecutor General Accountability (PGA).
According to NAB spokesman, the NAB Chairman Justice (r) Javed Iqbal congratulated Haider on his appointment and welcomed him to the anti-graft body.
Meanwhile, the chairman had not extended the deputation period of Muhammad Shakil Malik NAB HRM DG and asked him to report to the Establishment Division for further orders.
The appointment of Haider as PGA marks the end of a standoff between the government and the judiciary over the issue of announcing the crucial appointment. The Supreme Court had earlier taken notice of the delay in the appointment and had sought details about the delay from the federal law secretary.
It is important to mention here that the important post had been vacant since November last year after the three-year tenure of former Prosecutor General Waqas Qadeer Dar expired. According to the rules, the federal government holds the responsibility of filling the post after consulting the anti-graft body’s chairman.
Justice (r) Javed Iqbal had shared a list of five nominees to the federal government to select an ideal candidate for the post. The names provided by the chairman included, Mudhasir Khalid Abbasi, Shah Khawar, Syed Asghar Haider, Fasihul Mulk, and Nasir Saeed Sheikh.
However, all the above-mentioned names were rejected by the president owing to different reasons. The president shared his own list with the NAB chairman which included the names of Ramzan Chaudhry, Najeeb Faisal and Waqar Hassan Mir. The president’s recommendations were rejected by the chairman due to his own reasons.
According to sources, the deadlock between the federal government and NAB ended with the intervention of the Attorney General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali, thus paving the way for the appointment of a prosecutor general. After successful negotiations, Asghar’s name was finalised on the recommendation of the NAB chief.
