Former Army Brigadier appointed Pakistan PM's adviser on accountability and interior

Islamabad, Jan 27: Pakistan on Wednesday appointed retired Army Brigadier Musaddiq Abbasi as Prime Minister Imran Khan's new adviser on accountability and interior, two days after his predecessor resigned amid intense pressure.

President Arif Alvi - on the advice of Prime Minister Khan - appointed Abbasi, who has earlier served as the Director General of National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the top anti-corruption body in the country.

"In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 93 of the Constitution, the president - on the advice of the prime minister - has been pleased to appoint Brig (retired) Musaddiq Abbasi as adviser to the prime minister on accountability and interior with immediate effect," according to an official notification.

The appointment comes just two days after Shahzad Akbar tendered his resignation, saying he would remain associated with the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). Government sources said he was asked to step down and that Prime Minister Khan was not happy with his performance.

Akbar remained a controversial figure due to his tall claims at pressers regarding alleged mega corruption by opposition leaders like Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). But he failed to get either of them convicted despite keeping them in jail for months in various cases, which ultimately weakened the "anti-sleaze" narrative of the prime minister.

After about three-and-half years in office, Khan is under pressure to address public problems due to rising prices as well as making good on his promises to fix mega corruption by punishing corrupt politicians.