The government of Sindh extends the term of employment of the executive director of the Karachi National Accountability Bureau (NAB) by four years, rejecting the constitutional opinion and status of the Election Commission of Pakistan. This information was obtained from a letter from the office of the Advocate General of Sindh through the Universities and Boards Department and the Sindh High Court, which states that the opinion was obtained in response to Sindh government’s demand that, according to the letter, it does not explicitly mention a “four-year tenure,” but only recommends an extension of the tenure of employment and does not specify the duration.
According to the government of Sindh, after receiving the opinion of the Advocate General, Chief Minister Sindh Justice R M Qadir himself made the decision to extend the Chief Minister’s tenure by four years.
It should be noted that Sindh High Court had suspended the Election Commission’s decision to extend Dr. Akbar Zaidi’s term of employment, after which the husband of the former senator of the People’s Party, Syed Nadim Hussain, challenged the order in Sindh High Court, which stayed the Election Commission order and it is now December 30, 2024.
Elsewhere, the Attorney General’s office stated that there was no hindrance to the extension of Dr. Akbar Zaidi’s term of employment, further noting that the Election Commission’s ruling on December 5, 2023, which was suspended by the High Court, would continue as per the order of December 29.
The Sindh High Court has also challenged the order issued by the Election Commission on January 5, 2024, seeking a new notification from the Sindh government, allowing an extension of the executive director’s employment at the NAB for three months, resulting in a new notification.
Staff members of the NAB are non-civil servants, and eligible to receive the extension, as stated in a letter dated January 10 presented to the government of Sindh, clarifying that Dr. Akbar Zaidi’s term of employment extension is not subject to any obstacles.
In conclusion, the last letter from the Attorney General’s office does not specify a period of extension for the executive director of the NAB and the reference to the election commission’s letter is also related to a three-month extension, despite the Sindh Chief Minister’s orders, the board of universities and the Sindh government notified a four-year extension for the executive director of the NAB.
The stance of the Sindh government in this regard remains unknown, as attempts to contact Sindh Chief Minister’s spokesman Rashid Channa were unsuccessful. It is important to note that the first four-year term of the NAB executive director will expire on January 13, 2024.
Finally, the Sindh government accepts the elections and administrative issues of educational boards and universities in the form of various acts, such as those for other public universities and exam boards in Sindh, all of which would require approval from the Chief Minister and subsequently from the Election Commission.