The federal government on Saturday appointed Lt Gen (retd) Nazir Ahmed Butt as the new chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) with immediate effect.

Gen Nazir has been appointed after a mutual agreement between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Raja Riaz in Lahore, and consulted on the appointment of the new chairman of the anti-graft watchdog.

They are said to have discussed various names for the post.

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The meeting on Saturday concluded with an agreement on the name of Gen Nazir.

Sources claimed the prime minister and opposition leader held more than two sittings on the NAB chairman’s appointment.

PM Sharif and Raja Riaz also discussed the current political situation and other issues of mutual interest. Important legal and constitutional issues were also discussed.

The federal cabinet approved the Ministry of Law and Justice’s summary on the appointment through circulation.

The post of the NAB chairman was vacant since the resignation of Aftab Sultan.

Who is Nazir Ahmed Butt?

Hilal-e-Imtiaz recipient Lt Gen (retd) Butt was commissioned in the 40 Frontier Force Regiment of the Pakistan Army in 1983. He previously served as the 30th president of the National Defence University (NDU) in 2016.

Military attaché in US

He has also served as Pakistan’s military attaché in the US and military secretary to the prime minister of Pakistan. He has graduated from the Command and Staff College, and the NDU.

Military secretary to PMs

Gen Nazir has served as the military secretary to three former prime ministers, including Shaukat Aziz, Mian Muhammad Soomro and Yousaf Raza Gilani.

Corps commander Peshawar

He was appointed as commander of the XI Corps (Peshawar Corps) in December 2016. Prior to that, he served as commander of the Pakistan Military Academy in addition to commanding an infantry division in the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

GHQ and Waziristan

Gen Nazir was promoted to lieutenant general in 2014, and was subsequently appointed as inspector general of communications and information technology at the army’s General Headquarters.

Before retiring from service in 2018, he commanded a military formation in South Waziristan as a major general.