ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet is likely to approve new Board members of National Insurance Company Limited (NICL) as the term of incumbent board has expired, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.

The employees of NICL are protesting against the incumbent Board for not increasing their salaries and paying bonus. The Board, however, has approved one bonus for the employees which the employees term a routine one.

The incumbent Board comprises Ameen Bandukda (Chairman), Kamal Asfar (former Secretary Commerce), Dr Attiya Yasmin Javed, S. R. Poonegar (former Chief Secretary Balochistan), Dr Nazim Latif (Joint Secretary Commerce ), Ghalib Nishtar (CEO Khushhali Bank Limited), Subhan Khalid (ex-President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) and CEO NICL.

The Commerce Ministry has proposed the following names for the Board, Executive Director State Life Insurance Corporation, CEO NICL, Joint Secretary (Ministry of Finance) ,Syed Arshad Ali (retired civil servant), Additional Secretary (Ministry of Commerce), Shafqat Ahmad, Advisor to the Group of and Board member of Al-Baraka Bank, Asim Azeem Siddique,(Managing Director Marines Group of Companies) and Ms Nazish Afraz ( Professor of Economics, Lahore University of Management Sciences).

The sources said Syed Arshad Ali is expected to be appointed as the new Chairman of the Board of Directors with the consensus of the Board. Prime Minister has approved the names of the new Board, which is now to be ratified by the federal cabinet.

The NICL is pursuing a case of corruption and financial mismanagement during the tenure of the PPP government with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). Supreme Court of Pakistan is also hearing the NICL corruption case. And recently authorities arrested former CEO NICL Ayaz Khan Niazi, who is the principal accused in the scam.

On May 13, 2018 during the proceedings, Chief Justice of Pakistan observed that action should be taken against Niazi in the NICL scandal. When he directed authorities to arrest the former chairman, the bench was informed that the accused had been granted a pre-arrest bail in NICL cases being investigated by the Federal Intelligence Agency (FIA).

However, Justice Nisar argued that in cases transferred to NAB bail becomes ineffective; and Ayaz Khan can be arrested if bail is not extended to accountability court, observed the apex court. The bench also ordered immediate arrest of Mohsin Habib Waraich and directed accountability courts in Karachi and Lahore to conclude the trial within two months.—MUSHTAQ GHUMMAN