'Big step towards collapse of fascism,' says Fawad on NAB’s chairman resignation

Islamabad: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Hussain Chaudhry Tuesday said that the resignation of Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is a big step towards the collapse of the fascist system.

He turned to Twitter and wrote: “Aftab Sultan resigned against ‘interference’ in his work”.

Fawad stated that the 22 officers who had been appointed to intervene in Punjab should disassociate themselves from this system, adding that, “It is in the interest of both the country and the bureaucracy”.

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

Earlier today, NAB Chiarman Aftab Sultan resigned from his post over 'unwanted interference', reports quoting sources said.

According to sources, the outgoing official attributed his resignation to several concerns, with a particular emphasis on the interference with the bureau's work.

The reports citing sources added that Aftab Sultan recently met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who accepted his resignation.

While talking to a local news channel, Sultan disclosed that he had resigned from his position a few days earlier after being asked to carry out actions that he found ‘unacceptable’.

He was appointed as NAB Chairman by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government, succeeding Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, whose tenure had ended in 2022.

The former Director General (DG) of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) was appointed as the anti-graft watchdog's chairman on July 21, 2022.

Prior to his NAB role, Sultan served as Punjab Police IG.

He served two governments each of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) under four Prime Ministers — Yousuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

Additionally, Sultan was named as a co-accused with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a NAB reference related to alleged irregularities in purchasing vehicles for the SAARC conference.

The reference was approved, but the NAB did not file it.