The federal government on Saturday has issued the notification of the appointment of former Supreme Court (SC) Justice (r) Azmat Saeed as head of the Inquiry Commission to investigate the Broadsheet scandal. The notification has been issued by the Cabinet Secretariat.

The notification stated that Saeed's appointment was made under Section 3 of the Pakistan Commissions of Inquiry Act 2017. As head of the probe commission, former SC justice will have the authority to constitute special teams comprising officers and experts. He will be required to complete the probe within six weeks and send the report to the prime minister.

The notification was issued despite reservations from the opposition parties as well as the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA).

PBC and SCBA, on Thursday, said in a joint statement that Saeed served as a Deputy Prosecutor General of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) during General Pervez Musharaf regime when the anti-corruption watchdog signed a contract with Broadsheet. Therefore, he should not accept his appointment as he may not be able to maintain his neutrality while acting as the Inquiry Commission head.

Senior PML-N leader and former Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, earlier this month, said that the way the PTI government is handling the Broadsheet saga 'is nothing less of a joke'. Ahsan said that former SC justice was invited to join the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital's Board of Governors after his retirement by Prime Minister Imran Khan. Therefore, he should refuse to accept the appointment.

PML-N's vice president Maryam Nawaz on Wednesday advised Azmat Saeed to step down as the head of an inquiry committee probing the Boradsheet scandal. She alleged that former SC justice was part of a conspiracy against the then elected government and therefore unfit to chair the probe commission.