Pakistan’s accountability watchdog has launched the NAB Special Investigation Division as part of a new structure aimed at improving the handling of high-profile cases. The division has been established with the approval of NAB Chairman Lt. Gen (retired) Nazir Ahmed.
The new unit will operate under its own Director General. Grade 21 officer Muhammad Tahir has been appointed to lead the division and will report directly to the NAB chairman. The new division has been assigned responsibility for all high-profile cases. In doing so, it will assume duties previously handled by the Joint Investigation Team and the Land Directorate.
This restructuring suggests that NAB wants a more centralised approach for complex and sensitive investigations. The goal is to improve both efficiency and accountability in such cases. Under the new structure, the Special Investigation Division will have two dedicated prosecutors, Irfan Bhola and Shahid Nawaz Jadoon.
In addition, ten officers from Grades 17, 18, and 19 have been transferred to the new division to support its work. That staffing move indicates the SID is being set up with a focused operational team from the start.
The formation of the SID followed shortly after the federal government extended NAB Chairman Nazir Ahmed’s tenure for another three years. The extension took effect from March 6, 2026.
Nazir Ahmed was appointed NAB chairman on March 4, 2023, following the resignation of his predecessor, Aftab Sultan. The creation of the new division now adds another institutional change during his tenure. Overall, the move points to NAB’s effort to strengthen its handling of sensitive investigations through a separate division with its own command structure, prosecutors, and support staff.
