ISLAMABAD: Opposition parties have reacted strongly to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s allegation that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has been harassing politicians in the name of combating corruption and his assertion that if the practice continues, his government may take action against the bureau.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) was the first party on Tuesday to object to Mr Sharif’s criticism of NAB, with the party issuing what it called “indictment of the federal government’s record” on the issue.

Attributed to PTI’s spokesperson, Naeemul Haq, the statement said that by directly threatening NAB chairman with “dire consequences” Mr Sharif had “literally ignored all moral considerations the chief executive of the country should always be mindful of”.

The statement accused Mr Sharif of telling lies, be it his agreement with Gen Pervez Musharraf over exile in Saudi Arabia, claims of bringing back the money allegedly stashed abroad by former president Asif Ali Zardari or his recent statements about purchasing LNG from Qatar at cheap rates.

“This attitude of the federal government and the prime minister is even making the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor controversial,” it said, adding that the government had borrowed Rs5,000 billion which had “made people’s lives miserable”.

Shazia Marri of the PPP said her party had always upheld the autonomy of institutions. “That’s why when the Supreme Court gave a verdict against him, Yousuf Raza Gilani resigned as prime minister and never challenged the decision.”

The bureau “is supposed to go after corruption and the corrupt elements” across the board, notwithstanding pressures from the government of the day, she said. “That’s why under the 18th amendment we ensured NAB’s complete independence,” she said.

“I don’t really know what actually made the prime minister criticise NAB, but apparently the federal government is not happy with the anti-corruption watchdog. That’s why the reaction has come from the highest level.”

The PPP had been saying for a long time that wherever there was evidence of corruption against somebody, NAB should take action regardless of the party affiliation of the accused, Ms Marri said.

For Sheikh Rashid of the Awami Muslim League, the prime minister’s criticism of NAB was part of the government’s “pre-emptive strategy” aimed at stopping the bureau from arresting its 15 leaders.

Talking to a news channel, Mr Rashid didn’t reveal the identities of the people who he said NAB wanted to arrest, but indicated that they belonged to the ruling PML-N.

This is not the first time that a leader from the ruling party has attacked NAB. In June last year, when the bureau submitted a list of 29 cases of corruption to the Supreme Court, several federal ministers assailed it in the media. The reason was that the list included names of the two Sharif brothers.

Fear in PML-N camp

Asked to explain what had prompted the prime minister to criticise NAB, some PML-N leaders said they had lately been hearing about the possible arrest of some of their colleagues from Punjab on charges of corruption.

“The PML-N leadership believes that over the last few years the party has built its image as a clean one. The arrest of one or two of its leaders will shatter that myth,” said a senior party office-bearer, adding that with the general election due in 2018, the party couldn’t afford such a “mishap”.

Another PML-N source said the arrest of holder of a public office from the party could have a snowball effect and lead to the arrest of more people. “Therefore, the best option at hand for us is to not let this happen in the first place,” he added.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2016