PML-N to challenge NAB chairman’s appointment

Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) does not intend to let the appointment of retired admiral Fasih Bukhari be a smooth process as the party has decided to challenge the president’s decision in the court.

 

The party’s decision came amid the speculations that it would protest against the appointment in the parliament in Monday’s session. However, to the surprise of many observers, no protestation was witnessed on the issue as the party maintained a discreet silence on it.

 

However, a petition is to be filed in the court to challenge the appointment as the party leadership asserts that there was no satisfactory answer from the presidency on the legality of the appointment.

 

“We have decided to file a petition and challenge the appointment,” PML-N’s spokesperson Senator Mushahidullah Khan told The Express Tribune. “President Zardari has not given a satisfactory reply to the letter written by the leader of the opposition.”

 

Interestingly, it was observed lately that unlike Deedar Hussain Shah’s appointment that led to severe bickering in the parliament and outside, the nature of protest here has marked difference. Some observers believe it was due to the rank the currently appointed chairman had previously had.

 

All the same, there was no clear indication as to when will the petition be filed. The fact that no time frame was given also raises questions that Muslim League Nawaz will find difficult to answer as the debate rages on.

 

For now, the party insists that its objections pertaining to the appointment of Bukhari are purely technical, and there is no political motive involved. The legal argument that the PML-N proffers is that the appointment is violation of the recently passed 18^th Amendment.

 

Ever since 18^th Amendment has come into effect, it is necessary for the president to consult the opposition leader prior to certain appointments. The party needs a clear answer to the questions it had put to the president.

 

How do the government and the opposition solve this issue is, for now, an open debate. But a lot will certainly depend on the diplomacy of the PPP government and the relentlessness of the PML-N if any result of the issue is to come.

Posted by Sajjad Hussain on Oct 19 2011. Filed under Latest News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry