The PML-N and PPP on Friday rejected the appointment of Supreme Court former judge Azmat Saeed Sheikh as head of the Broadsheet inquiry committee, citing a ‘conflict of interest’ due to his past affiliation with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
In a statement on Friday, senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal pointed out that the former Supreme Court judge was also part of the bench in the Panama Papers case which disqualified Nawaz Sharif. He was later invited to join the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital’s Board of Governors after his retirement by Prime Minister Imran Khan. He also pointed out that during the Musharraf regime, when the asset recovery agreement was signed with Broadsheet, Justice Azmat had been part of NAB.
Meanwhile, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bukhari said the PPP was concerned over the appointment due to the ex-judge’s past affiliation with NAB and the Shaukat Khanum hospital. Investigation of the Broadsheet case under such circumstances is tantamount to “throwing dust in the eyes of the people,” he said in a statement. “Broadsheet is a very important issue [so] we want a transparent investigation,” he said.
According to the Supreme Court’s website, Justice Azmat was deputy prosecutor general NAB at Islamabad in the year 2000 for a period of one year and was later appointed special prosecutor NAB in 2001 to prosecute cases before accountability courts in Attock Fort and Rawalpindi. However, neither he was there when the Broadsheet was hired nor when the agreement was terminated.
