PM Khan ‘stopped’ NAB chairman from attending parliamentary meeting that the chairman had called himself

Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan stopped the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (R) Javed Iqbal from attending the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting on Thursday which was convened by the chairman himself, reports The News.

The chairman had asked for an in-camera meeting to present the figures on the recovery from NAB proceedings and its utilisation. Instead of appearing, the chairman asked NAB Director-General (DG) to represent him which resulted in the dismissal of the meeting as a protest.

It has also been reported that PM Khan also barred the chairman from appearing in any parliamentary committee meeting.

Opposition members blasted the NAB chairman over his non-attendance and even asked PAC chairman Rana Tanveer to move a privilege motion against him in the National Assembly (NA).

Tanveer argued that the chairman was accountable to the parliament and he would have to be accountable for the money he had spent during his tenure.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Saleem Mandviwala said, “NAB is the worst department of Pakistan. It is destroying Pakistan’s economy.”

This is not the first time that the NAB chairman has avoided such meetings. Last year in December, he appeared before the PAC for the first time but requested to convene an in-camera meeting to review the performance of his organisation.