NAB chairman Aftab Sultan steps down

Aftab Sultan resigned on Tuesday as the chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after seven months, Aaj Newsreported.

Aaj News quoted the former director general of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) as saying that he was not ready to file references on the whims of some people or end cases to please them.

A statement from the Prime Minister's Office confirmed that the resignation has been accepted and that PM Shehbaz Sharif commended Sultan on his services.

Former DG Intelligence Bureau Aftab Sultan appointed NAB chairman

Sultan was appointed last year in July as the NAB chairman. He is a retired BPS-22 officer, who served as director general of the IB in 2011 and 2013.

He was originally a civil servant employed in the Police Service of Pakistan.

NAB: Pakistan's apex anti-corruption organization

Its website describes NAB as "Pakistan's apex anti-corruption organization" charged with the responsibility of "elimination of corruption through a holistic approach of awareness, prevention and enforcement."

Set up in 1999, the website adds that for the initial three years, the focus of NAB was directed at detection, investigation and prosecution of white-collar crime. Those prosecuted include politicians, public service officials and other citizens who were either guilty of gross abuse of powers, or through corruption had deprived the national exchequer of millions.

In February 2002, NAB launched the National Anticorruption Strategy (NACS) project which conducted broad based surveys, studied external models of international anti-corruption agencies and involved local stakeholder.

Earlier this year, NAB received over 7,000 complaints against corrupt elements out of which 1,075 were converted into inquiries while 315 reached the level of investigation during the year 2022.

Last week, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) senior leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said NAB was the most corrupt institution in the country.

“Pakistan cannot function as long as the NAB remains operational,” he added.

The PML-N leader said government officials were reluctant to use their powers due to fear of the anti-graft watchdog.

The NAB was created for political victimisation and former chairman Javed Iqbal needed to answer questions about his tenure, he stressed.