The chief of Pakistan's anti-graft watchdog has resigned, apparently due to pressure from the Supreme Court to arrest Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in connection with two corruption cases, sources said on Sunday. “National Accountability Bureau Chairman Fasih Bokhari has called it a day and submitted his resignation to President Asif Ali Zardari,” a source privy to the development said. “A series of events that landed NAB in hot waters is the reason behind Bokhari's decision to resign,” the source added.
During a recent hearing in in the Supreme Court, Bokhari had a heated exchange with Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry for not showing respect to him. Bokhari, a former naval chief, told the top judge in a firm tone to call him “Admiral Bokhari instead of Mr Bokhari”, surprising people present in the courtroom.
The NAB chief has also been at the centre of a controversy over the mysterious death of investigator Kamran Faisal, who was probing graft charges against the premier. An interim autopsy report concluded Faisal had committed suicide but his relatives and colleagues have disputed the findings, saying the investigator was being pressured by Bokhari to change a report that he had submitted against the premier.
