New Chairman NAB

Just days after the unceremonious exit of former chairman NAB, the government has appointed his replacement and this time he is a retired army general. Lt Gen (R) Nazir Ahmad has been appointed for three years apparently after detailed deliberation between the leader of NA and the opposition leader. PTI, the leading political party has termed the appointment as controversial, quite obviously because the party was not consulted about the matter. It was however expected that the post would go to the military as it has not suited well for civilians. Lt Gen (R) Nazir Ahmad Butt, whose initials are interestingly in consonance with the organisation he now heads (NAB) has fairly good exposure to civilian political governance as he served as military secretary to three prime ministers including, Shaukat Aziz and Muhammad Mian Soomro. He also had a stint abroad as Defence Attaché in Washington. He commanded the prestigious Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul and also remained President of National Defence University in Islamabad. As major general he commanded a division in South Waziristan and also served as Corps Commander of 11 Corps based in Peshawar. Chairman NAB is a tough assignment and Lt Gen (R) Butt will be required to use all his experience and skills to manage it. TW