Justice (r) Javed Iqbal will be next NAB chairman

A file photo

Lahore : Consensus has been formed with the government over the name for new chairman of the  NAB. Opposition Leader Syed Khurshid Shah has revealed that Justice (r) Javed Iqbal’s name has been finalised for the post of chairman of the National Accountability Bureau .

Addressing a press conference in Sukkur, Khurshid Shah expressed hope that post of the chief of the country’s top anti-graft body will remain apolitical. He said Iqbal, a former apex court judge, possesses valuable judgment skills.

He especially lauded Abbottabad Commission report prepared under the supervision of Iqbal. He said that the names proposed by some of the political parties lacked merit.

Justice (r) Javed Iqbal was born in Quetta in 1936. He obtained an LLB degree from Punjab University in 1968. He went to Australia then and did his LLM in International Law in 1971. In 1985, he obtained a degree of Masters in Islamic law from Islamic University Islamabad.

He was appointed additional judge at High Court in Quetta in 1993 and then took the PCO oath in 1999 to become a judge at Balochistan High Court. Next year, he became the Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court. He remained a judge at Supreme Court of Pakistan from 2004 to 2011.

It is pertinent to mention here that he had refused to take oath under PCO in 2007. He also headed the Abbottabad Commission in 2011 and presented the report to the then Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on January 4, 2013.

Justice (retd) Javaid Iqbal was among the three names recommend by the opposition leader for the post. Two others recommended for the slot were Justice (retd) Faqir Muhammad Khokhar and former secretary election commission Ishtiaq Ahmed.

Whereas, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had suggested the names of incumbent Intelligence Bureau chief Aftab Sultan, Justice (retd) Rehmat Jaffery, and Justice (retd) Ejaz Chaudhry for the post.