August 07, 2008	Thursday	Sha’aban 4, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Aug 6: Financial crisis has pushed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on the verge of collapse, and in a bid to survive it is considering laying off 1,500 employees, including 143 senior officers, Dawn learnt on Wednesday.

Sources in the government said the bureau was in a position to survive financially only for a month, and if monetary assistance is not provided to it by September, NAB would automatically stop functioning.

The bureau’s chairman, Navaid Ahsan, had written a letter to the secretary, Cabinet Division, demanding release of the remaining amount of Rs300 million out of the total Rs450 million allocated for the bureau in the federal budget 2008-09, a senior NAB official, on condition of anonymity, said.

Frequent attempts were made to contact the NAB chairman and secretary, Cabinet Division, but both were reluctant to talk and apparently avoided to comment on the issue.

“NAB had sought a total of Rs950 million in the federal budget but the government cut it by 50 per cent and approved Rs450 million. However, so far the bureau has received only Rs150 million with which it can meet the needs till September,” the official said.

The sources said the federal government had kept mum on NAB’s financial situation as the secretary, Cabinet Division, had so far not replied to Mr Ahsan’s request of releasing the remaining budgetary allocation.

At the time of its establishment, the total authorised strength of NAB officers was 1,011, but the highest number of senior officers ever to work with NAB had been 698.

Out of 698, some 54 army officials, deputed in NAB, were called back by GHQ soon after Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani assumed charge as chief of army staff. In addition to this, 126 officers who were working on contract or deputation were removed on July 15 on the pretext of downsizing.

The present strength of NAB officers is 453 out of which 287 are working on regular basis, 106 on contract and 37 officials are serving on deputation from the navy and air force.

Of 453 officials, 90 are posted to its headquarters in Islamabad, 101 are in Lahore, 77 in Sindh, 70 in the NWFP, 46 in Balochistan and 69 in Rawalpindi.

NAB had become toothless since the promulgation of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) under which all politicians and bureaucrats involved in corruption cases before 1999 were given immunity and in future no corruption case would be registered against them without the approval of the parliament.

The sources said the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) was trying to dismantle NAB by blocking monetary aid to it only because the bureau had given a tough time to the top leadership of the party in several cases and was used as a tool to politically victimise opponents.