PM Imran Khan's stooges should keep their suggestions to themselves: Marriyum

• Marriyum reacts to Fawad Chaudhry's suggestion that the Opposition should start searching for a new leader.
  
• Says procedure of appointing NAB chairman is mentioned in the Constitution.
• Says "extending tenure of NAB chairman is a way for Imran Khan to protect his mafia".

LAHORE: PML-N's spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb slammed Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday for suggesting that the Opposition should start searching for a new leader.

In a statement, the PML-N spokesperson said: "Fawad Chaudhry should keep his suggestions to himself."

Aurangzeb reminded the federal minister that the "procedure of appointing the chairman of [National Accountability Bureau] is mentioned in the Constitution".

"This is not a matter of extending the tenure of the NAB chairman but a way for thieves of flour, sugar, electricity, gas, and medicines to seek a National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) from Imran Khan," she said.

The PML-N spokesperson went on to say that the decision to extend the tenure of the NAB chairman is a "way to protect thief Imran Khan and his mafia".

"Through this decision, Imran Khan will be able to safeguard his projects, including the billion-tree tsunami, the helicopter case, and the Peshawar BRT (bus rapid transit)," she said.

The spokesperson added that the PTI-led government, through the decision to extend the tenure of the NAB chairman, has violated the country's Constitution. 

Aurengzeb reminded the government that as per the Constitution of Pakistan, it was a mandatory requirement for it to consult the Opposition before taking such a decision.

"Extending the tenure of the NAB chairman without taking the Opposition on board is unconstitutional and illegal," she said, adding that Imran Khan and his stooges should keep their statements regarding the matter to themselves.

Govt to bring ordinance for NAB chairman’s appointment sans consultation with Opposition

Earlier in the day, Fawad Chaudhry had said the government has finalised the draft for the NAB chairman’s appointment, which will remove the “legal laguna” of consulting with the Opposition on picking a new chief or extending the incumbent’s tenure.

The minister, addressing a post-cabinet press conference in Islamabad, said the new ordinance would empower the accountability courts, as the government wants to strengthen the systems and not an individual.

The information minister said it would have been better had the Opposition proposed a name, but unfortunately, they could not do so. He reiterated that the government would not hold talks with Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif, as he was a suspect in a NAB case.

“Opposition should now start searching for a new Opposition leader,” Chaudhry said, adding that the matter related to the NAB chairman did not come under discussion during the federal cabinet’s meeting.

The government, through the new ordinance, seeks to overcome Section 6 of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), which suggests that the NAB chairman will be appointed by the president in consultation with the leader of the house and the leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly for a non-extendable period of four years.

The development comes after the government had decided to give an extension to NAB Chairman retired Justice Javed Iqbal and a draft ordinance was been prepared by the legal minds of the government, sources had told Geo News.

A meeting was chaired to discuss the ordinance which was drafted in consultation with federal ministers. Law Minister Dr Farogh Nasim, Adviser to the PM on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan and Adviser on Interior and Accountability Mirza Shahzad Akbar suggested changes in the law.

In contrast, Federal Law Minister Farogh Naseem had rejected media reports and clarified that his ministry had not drafted an ordinance to extend the tenure of Justice (retd) Iqbal as the NAB chief.