ISLAMABAD, Nov 7: The government is considering renaming of National Accountability Bureau with a fresh legislation because the present name symbolises an era of ‘political victimisation’.

A source in the NAB told Dawn on Friday that a high-powered committee headed by Law Minister Farooq H. Naek has been working to form new structure of the NAB on the pattern of defunct Ehtesab Bureau that was headed by a civilian chairman.

One of the significant aspects of the new legislation is that it would bar military officials from becoming its chairman.

After renaming, the NAB may be called National Accountability Commission or National Commission of Accountability, the source said.

Under the new legislation, the head of the commission would be a retired judge or a senior lawyer or any civilian to be appointed by the president.

The source said a post of deputy chairman NAB which is presently retained by a military official would also be abolished.

At present, the NAB has been facing an acute financial crisis and harsh attitude of the government because the leaders of ruling coalition believed that the bureau had been used a tool for their political victimisation in the last regime headed by former President Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf.

The crippling NAB, which was one of the most powerful government organisations in the last regime, has no funds to pay salaries to its employees in the next month.

The government is reportedly not releasing the second instalment of budgetary allocation announced for the NAB in the 2008-09 budget.The source said the NAB, which was dying its own death, could not take any action against politicians after the promulgation of National Reconciliation Ordinance .

The financial crisis has already pushed the NAB to the verge of collapse and in a bid to survive the much feared bureau is considering laying off 1,350 employees working on the contract basis.