ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s adviser on accountability and interior, Shahzad Akbar, on Monday stepped down from his post, saying he would continue to be affiliated with the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
Akbar, who previously worked as a deputy prosecutor with the country’s anti-corruption watchdog, was appointed a special assistant to the prime minister on accountability and interior in August 2018.
In July 2020, he was appointed an adviser to the prime minister on accountability and interior, in the capacity of a federal minister.
“I have tendered my resignation today to PM as Adviser. I sincerely hope the process of accountability continues under leadership of PM Imran Khan as per PTI’s manifesto,” Akbar said on Twitter.
“I will remain associated with party n keep contributing as member of legal fraternity.”
Akbar played an important role in money laundering cases against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and multiple other corruption cases against opposition leaders.
He was also appointed the chairman of the government’s Assets Recovery Unit, which was formed in 2018, to devise a strategy to recover looted national wealth from abroad.
Akbar didn’t mention the reasons behind his resignation.
Pakistani information minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain lauded Akbar for working under “tremendous pressure.”
“You worked under tremendous pressure, it was never easy to take on mafias but [the] way you worked and handled cases is admirable, more important work is now awaiting you in sha Allah (God willing),” Hussain said.
But Mohammad Zubair, a senior figure in Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, was critical of Akbar for “messing up & wasting national resources.”
“After messing up and wasting national resources, here comes the resignation. We always knew he will fail,” Zubair said in a Twitter post.
“Jumping the ship at the right moment, Shahzad Akbar has proven to be a smart person. There were no open and shut cases — that was all made up so that Imran Khan could get in power.”
