Shahzad Akbar, the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Accountability and the Interior, resigned his position from the top job on Monday.
I have tendered my resignation today to PM as Advisor. I sincerely hope the process of accountability continues under leadership of PM IK as per PTI’s manifesto. I will remain associated with party n keep contributing as member of legal fraternity.
— Mirza Shahzad Akbar (@ShazadAkbar) January 24, 2022
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader said in a tweet that he will stay with the party and continue “contributing as a member of the legal fraternity.” According to “PTI’s manifesto,” Akbar hopes that the accountability campaign would continue under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s leadership.
Since the PTI administration took office in August 2018, Akbar has served as the special assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on accountability and the interior. On July 23, 2020, he was promoted to an adviser to the Prime Minister with the power of a federal minister.
Fawad Chaudhry, the Information Minister, responded to Akbar’s apparent surprise departure by saying that “more vital” duties awaited him.
He also praised Akbar for working under “extreme pressure” and emphasized that “hitting on mafia” was never easy.
You worked under tremendous pressure,it was never easy to take on Mafias but way you worked and handled cases is admirable, more important work is now awaiting you Inshallah.. https://t.co/JSYKHYdCAt
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) January 24, 2022
Muhammad Zubair of the PML-N, on the other hand, accused Akbar of “misusing and wasting national resources,” and claimed that the PML-N has always known the premier’s aide would fail.
Zubair also described Akbar’s departure as “hopping ship” at the appropriate time, adding that he had “shown to be a clever person.”
All cases were “concocted,” according to the PML-N leader, in order to put Imran Khan “in power.”
After messing up & wasting national resources, here comes the resignation. We always knew he will fail. Jumping the ship at the right moment, Shahzad Akbar has proven to be a smart person. There were no open & shut cases – that was all made up so that IK could get in power https://t.co/zrAqRBwFlT
— Mohammad Zubair (@Real_MZubair) January 24, 2022
Sarina Isa, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Qazi Faez Isa, had approached the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) last week to seek action against Akbar and the current law minister, among others.
Isa claimed that Akbar, the chief of the Assets Recovery Unit (ARU), kept the assets recovered by the ARU a secret. She had questioned the accountability czar about his and his family’s riches.
Akbar, on the other hand, called the charges false and issued her with a defamation notice.
