LAHORE: Some officials of the National Accountability Bureau believe the PML-N government may use the same tactics the PPP did to stop it from pursuing ‘high profile’ cases.

However, a former employee says a judicial oversight committee should be constituted to investigate NAB’s ‘dubious affairs’ since 2008.

The NAB has come under a lot of criticism from the PML-N big guns for submitting a list of 150 mega scams involving Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, former president Asif Ali Zardari, ex-premiers, ministers and top bureaucrats.

“As long as NAB is cooperating with the government in burying its corruption cases it will be allowed to do its job. But if the bureau goes after such mega corruption scandals under the court’s order then certainly the government will make its life difficult,” the former employee said.

Ex-employee for probe into authority’s affairs

Retired Brig Farooq Hamid, who served NAB till 2009 as director investigation, told Dawn on Monday that a judicial investigation into the NAB affairs from 2008 should be carried out to know as how many important inquiries against big fish were closed, how many dubious plea bargains were finalized, how many references were lost and on top of that how many acquittals were engineered.

Mr Hamid said the NAB’s performance during the last seven years or so needed to be scrutinized to see where it extended favours to save big guns and where it victimized people at the behest of those at the helm.

“A judicial oversight committee comprising a judge from each high court in the province should look into the NAB affairs. A joint parliamentary committee should be authorized to make the selection of new independent NAB chairman,” he suggested.

Brig Hamid said at present the NAB had become ‘National Acquittal Bureau’ or National Dry Cleaning Bureau’ because the powerful used it in shelving the cases against them. “Both the PML-N and PPP earlier had pledged to form an independent accountability bureau but both backtracked after coming to power.”

The NAB’s credibility has been in question since its inception in 1999. Pervaiz Rashid alleged that the NAB was used as a tool by former president retired Gen Pervez Musharaf to intimidate and harass opponents in the past.

Even today the NAB is being accused of covering up the corruption of the ruling elite and victimizing its opponents. Questions are also being raised on the NAB’s prosecution.

On the other hand, some NAB officials Dawn spoke to said the way the PML-N stalwarts like Speaker Ayyaz Sadiq and Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid targeted the bureau after the report of 150 mega scams submitted in the apex court it seemed that the government might come tough on it in days to come (if it reopened the cases against the ruling elite).

The PPP after coming to power had reduced the NAB budget for the 2008-09 by 49 per cent as part of its plan to strangle it. “The PML-N government may take similar steps if the NAB goes against its wishes,” an official apprehended.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2015

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