ISLAMABAD: Aftab Sultan has resigned as chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), JEE News reported on Tuesday after allegedly refusing to “toe the line”.
He was appointed as the Anti-Graft Chief on July 21, 2022 for a three-year term.
In a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office, it has been confirmed that Sultan has submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif due to personal reasons.
The Prime Minister’s Office said, “The Prime Minister appreciated the services of Aftab Sultan and appreciated his honesty and integrity. At his insistence, the Prime Minister reluctantly accepted Sultan’s resignation.”
Speaking to JEE News, Sultan said that I had resigned from the post a few days ago. Aftab Sultan said, “I was asked to do some things which I did not accept.
“I told him that I cannot continue with the conditions. My resignation has been accepted and it has ended on a positive note,” he said. The Prime Minister wished me well, I also wish him well.
Sources revealed that the Sultan had refused to arrest politicians at anyone’s behest.
“In the last four months, they have been pressured by the government and some other agencies to file cases against people of their choice and arrest them,” he added.
According to sources, Sultan had also withdrawn the powers of arrest from the Director Generals (DGs) of NAB to avoid misuse of powers by the authorities.
He was brought in by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government after the tenure of Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal ended last year.
PTI welcomes the development.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Fawad Chaudhry, while reacting to the progress affecting the transparency of the current coalition government, said that the resignation of NAB chairman is a big step towards the end of the fascist system.
چیئرمین احتساب بیورو کااستعفیٰ فاشسٹ نظام کے ٹوٹنے کی طرف بڑا قدم ہے،آفتاب سلطان نے ان کے کام میں“مداخلت”کے خلاف استعفیٰ دیا میں ان 22افسران کو جن کو پنجاب میں مداخلت کرنے کیلئے لگایا گیا ہے کہتا ہوں وہ بھی خود کو اس نظام سے علیحدہ کریں یہ ملک اور بیوروکریسی دونوں کے مفاد میں ہے
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) February 21, 2023
The former federal minister said that Aftab Sultan resigned against “interference” in his work, for this purpose 22 officers posted in Punjab should also resign.
This is in the interest of both the country and the bureaucracy.
Profile of Aftab Sultan
Considered an upright officer by his peers and colleagues, Sultan also served as the IG of the Punjab Police and was later appointed as the Director General of the Intelligence Bureau. He was holding the same post when PTI staged a dharna in Islamabad in 2014.
He was also the Director General of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) under the then Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
NAB reference was also approved against him for the alleged irregularities in the purchase of vehicles in the name of SAARC conference and he was a co-accused along with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
However, NAB did not file the reference.
Former Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry was also a co-accused and was facing charges of causing a loss of Rs 1.95 billion to the national exchequer.
