PTI has demanded that a new leader of the opposition in the National Assembly should be appointed before the selection of the new National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman.
Earlier today, Aftab Sultan stepped down as the Chairman of NAB only seven months after his appointment last year. Media reports state that he was asked to “toe the line”, hence he resigned. NAB chairman had also reportedly met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who accepted his resignation.
According to sources, the coalition government is considering the names of Azam Suleman and Irfan Elahi for the coveted post. Irfan Elahi is a former federal secretary and had worked as chairman planning department. The other candidate Azam Suleman Khan is a retired Pakistani civil servant who is currently serving as the Ombudsman of Punjab.
Read more: NAB Chairman Aftab Sultan resigns
The final decision on the Nab chairman slot would be made after consulting with the coalition partners of the government. However, PTI has demanded that the leader of the opposition should be appointed first, and through his consultation, the NAB chairman should be appointed.
PTI has already begun the process for the change of the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly. In this regard, PTI Chief Whip Malik Aamir Dogar has sent a letter to the speaker.
“As you may be aware, the Hon’ble Lahore High Court has decided on Feb 20 suspending your decision to de-notify MNAs belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-lnsaf. As a result of this decision, the largest Opposition Party in the National Assembly is now PTI, and the Leader of the Opposition should now be from PTI,” reads the letter.
Process for change of leader of the opposition in National Assembly has been started by PTI. pic.twitter.com/NwK1meIOoV
— PTI (@PTIofficial) February 21, 2023
The PTI leader also reminded him that “according to the NAB Law, the appointment of Chairman NAB has to be carried out after consultation between the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition”.
He said the replacement of Mr. Sultan should only be finalized after consultation with the new opposition leader nominated by PTI.
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