Zardari proposes to reappoint Deedar Shah as NAB Chairman

Islamabad, Mar 12(ANI): Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has proposed to reappoint Justice (retired) Syed Deedar Hussain Shah as National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman after the Supreme Court ordered him to relinquish the charge on Thursday.

Zardari has sought the opinions of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and the opposition leader in the National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, through two separate letters in this regard.

Zardari's spokesperson Farhatullah Babar said the opinion of the opposition leader had been sought through a letter signed by Secretary Malik Asif Hayat on behalf of the president, and it was also sent to Gilani for forwarding the same to Chaudhry Nisar.

"Shah is a man of integrity with rich legal background. He was elevated from the bar to the Sindh High Court (SHC) judge and remained the SHC chief justice. He then retired as judge of the Supreme Court (SC) and he is a suitable candidate for appointment to this post," the Daily Times quoted Zardari's letter to Chaudhry Nisar, as saying.

The president also gave the background of Shah's nomination, and took notice of the earlier objections raised against his appointment that he had affiliation with the ruling party.

Taking notice of it, Zardari said that Shah remained member of the Sindh Assembly long before he was appointed as SHC judge in 1994.

"He was appointed as SHC judge keeping in view his vast professional experience and unquestionable integrity and subsequently elevated as SC judge in April 2000 and served in the apex court till 2004," the letter read.

The letter also drew attention to the court's observations in the 1996 Al-Jehad Trust case judgment and read, "That a person cannot be appointed as a judge simply for the reason he has affiliation with a particular political party. However, if he is a man of integrity and has sound knowledge of law, then his past political affiliation will not be a disqualification." (ANI)