The proposed “Revised Updated NAB Ordinance” that has been approved by the President, takes away much of the bureau’s ability to go after businessmen and bureaucrats in general, leaving politicians as the only target.
Meanwhile, the most glaring flaws in the law remain. Accountability courts cannot grant bail, regardless of how strong or weak the case may be. The NAB chairman retains the power to pursue cases of his choosing, rather than requiring approval of a scrutiny board that was in the earlier amendment draft. The new law also fails to specify a timeframe for completing an inquiry.
But Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shahzad Akbar claimed that the amendments aim to address problematic clauses in the law such as the one regarding “misuse of authority”. He said the law previously allowed for NAB cases where the accused made honest mistakes with no malicious intent.
The second amendment was to address jurisdictional overlaps with the Federal Board of Revenue on tax-related cases.
He also clarified that common men can still be prosecuted under the law, but for a much smaller range of crimes. This includes Ponzi schemes and other financial scams. Merchants, attorneys, banks and agents may also be prosecuted for cheating the public. The PM’s aide also explained the clause regarding “defence of good faith”.
Officers charged by NAB who are later exonerated cannot file cases against NAB officers unless a personal enmity can be proven. But this leaves out incompetence, and the accused may still have to deal with the public perception of guilt due to lack of incriminating evidence rather than innocence, which can destroy reputations.
Meanwhile, the opposition continues to cry foul over the use of an ordinance rather than an act of parliament to amend the law. This is a fair point, considering changes to the NAB law were one of the things the opposition was demanding.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 31st, 2019.
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