Two main opposition parties, the PML-N and the PPP, have rejected the inquiry committee headed by Justice (retired) Azmat Saeed to investigate the Broadsheet scandal. The inquiry committee was constituted by the government to probe the scandal after a ministerial committee presented its report to the cabinet.
Senior PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said in a statement that the former Supreme Court judge was a member of the bench that adjudicated the Panama case and disqualified Nawaz Sharif.
Prime Minister Imran Khan invited him to join the Shaukat Khanum Hospital’s Board of Governors after his retirement.
PPP Secretary-General Nayyer Bukhari has reservations on the committee and termed the PTI decision “dishonesty”, adding that the government is trying to lay all the blames on the previous governments.
He termed it a “sensitive matter” that should be investigated in a transparent manner.
Ahsan claimed that Imran Khan wants to save himself and NAB by appointing Justice Azmat as head of the investigation panel.
Ahsan Iqbal said Justice Azmat Saeed was a part of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) when deal was signed with Broadsheet.
The Supreme Court’s website says Justice Azmat was deputy prosecutor general NAB at Islamabad in the year 2000 for a period of one year. He was appointed special prosecutor NAB in 2001 to prosecute cases before accountability courts at Attock Fort and Rawalpindi.
However, it is not clear whether he was instrumental in the formulation and signing of the agreement with Broadsheet and/or its eventual termination.
Earlier, Information and Broadcasting Minister Senator Shibli Faraz announced the constitution of the inquiry committee, saying that Justice Azmat would also be consulted on the appointment of members of the committee.
Meanwhile, the formation of the Broadsheet inquiry commission was the top trend on Twitter with hashtag #BiasedAzmatSaeedRejected.
