POLITICIANS have long been wary of accountability because it has so often been used to stunt the democratic process in the past. But there is a line that separates legitimate concerns from the desire to be above the law and that line appears to have been crossed by the present political leadership of the country. Consider the reaction by politicians, and especially leaders of the PML-N, to the National Accountability Bureau informing the Supreme Court of inquiries and investigations under way and references that have been filed against senior politicians, bureaucrats and sundry well-connected businessmen and public figures in scams involving billions of rupees. Instead of a sensible and measured response to what is effectively NAB doing a part of its job by inquiring into alleged fraud and scams, the political class has taken it upon itself to attack the integrity and professionalism of the accountability bureau itself. Curiously, Speaker of the National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq, who has demonstrated much equanimity in the long-running personal saga of Imran Khan and the PTI contesting the result of the seat they lost to Mr Sadiq in May 2013, appears to have been flustered on the PML-N’s behalf and has even threatened to file a reference against NAB chairman Qamar Zaman Chaudhry. Earlier, Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid had launched his own attack against NAB and its working.

There is no real doubt about what has provoked the outrage of parliamentarians: they seem to be allergic to the very idea of accountability. There also appears to be a sense of entitlement at work here, that somehow anything that attracts public and media criticism is unjustified when it comes to the reputation of politicians. In fact, it should be the other way round: politicians ought to be able to respond to every allegation of misconduct or corruption by proving that the allegations are without merit. But the trend is not new. In the last parliament, the PPP and PML-N feigned interest in a new accountability body, but then created an impasse over who should lead the organisation. Now, with the PPP still the largest single party in the Senate and the PML-N having a majority in the National Assembly, there ought to be no reason at all for delaying what the last parliament was unable to do – and yet there is no hint that the legislators are interested in taking up the matter anytime. Indeed, Speaker Ayaz Sadiq should be more concerned by the legislative disinterest of the house he presides over.

A basic point needs to be reiterated here: corruption — and the public’s perception of corruption — damages the democratic process. Few, if any, would argue that the political process is cleaner today than what it was at the start of the transition to democracy. An empowered, independent and professional accountability body is needed. NAB has many flaws, but so do many politicians have much to hide.

Published in Dawn ,July 13th, 2015

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