Javed Iqbal, the former chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), was prevented from leading the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances by the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee last month.
Justice Aamer Farooq of the IHC further requested responses from the PAC, the interior secretary, and the secretary for legislative affairs by August 11 while considering Mr. Iqbal’s case.
He had been the head of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances since its inception in 2011, but the PAC had decided to keep him out of the job because of his alleged involvement in kidnappings.
To identify those responsible for enforced disappearances and bring them to justice, a commission was established.
PAC took up a complaint from Tayyaba Gul on July 7 requesting action against Mr. Iqbal for alleged sexual harassment. Additionally, the petitioner alleged that she had video proof to support her claim.
During its discussion, the committee noted that Amna Masood Janjua, chairwoman of the Human Rights Commission, had also accused Justice Iqbal of flirting with the spouses of missing persons on a television show earlier this year.
On the 7th of July, PAC received a complaint from Tayyaba Gul alleging that Mr. Iqbal had sexually harassed her. The petitioner also claimed to have video evidence to back up her claims.
His lawyer argued in court that neither the PAC nor Ms. Gul had the right or jurisdiction to hear Mr. Iqbal’s appeal or to prevent him from serving as head of the commission.
According to the Constitution, the PAC’s function was to analyse audit reports and financial irregularities of the ministries under Rule 198, 201(5),202,203, of the regulations on procedures in the National Assembly, as noted by prominent legal experts.
Justice Farooq noted that the IHC was already examining the PAC’s powers in two identical petitions when he took up Mr. Iqbal’s plea.
Both Saleem Shahzad and Zahir Shah, NAB’s acting director general in Lahore, had previously filed petitions to contest the PAC’s orders, which are undergoing adjudication.
Respondents were given until August 11 to react, and the PAC was prohibited from taking any action against Mr. Iqbal until then, by the International Court of Justice (IHC).
