PML-N, PPP against enhancing NAB powers

The country’s two biggest opposition parties – the PML-N and the PPP – have criticized the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for seeking access to local and offshore tax records and opposed any possible increase in the top graft buster’s powers.

According to a news report published in The Express Tribune on Sunday, NAB has asked the government to give it access to local and offshore tax records of all politically exposed persons, bureaucrats and their families by introducing new legal amendments before approval of the budget.

The bureau has recommended four major amendments in the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 through the Finance Bill 2021, which the National Assembly is expected to approve next week on Tuesday.

These proposals, if accepted by the government, will allow NAB to even reopen the past and closed transactions of the last 20 years, official documents showed.

Commenting on the report, PML-N Secretary Information Marriyum Aurangzeb demanded that the income tax laws should be amended to make sure that the assets of all those who are on government payroll are made public.

Read more: NAB seeks access to tax record of politicians

“Hooliganism and harassment do not add anything to the national treasury. Giving FBR's [Federal Board of Revenue] powers to NAB is [Prime Minister] Imran Khan's hooliganism and bullying. This new ploy is being used because the NAB-Niazi alliance has failed miserably,” she said in a statement.

The former Information minister said the assets of public representatives are already public and the FBR has all the records and the details. She questioned the rationale behind this step by PM Imran Khan and said the step “reeks of nefarious and mala fide intention”.

“The NAB-Niazi alliance has destroyed the national economy in [the last] 3 years,” she said, adding that the FBR’s powers to arrest tax defaulters should be also annulled. She termed these measures “a product of Imran Khan's fascist mindset”.

PPPP General-Secretary Nayyar Bukhari said under its present legal and administrative structure NAB is no more than a tool for political engineering and witch-hunting. “Given the distorted NAB law and a compromised administration, NAB cannot be trusted with more powers under any circumstances.”

According to Bukhari, NAB has been a disaster and NAB and economic development cannot co-exist.

“More powers to NAB will be a catastrophe. The PPP has called for replacing the existing legal framework with a new one that ensures the accountability of anyone paid out of the state exchequer. The PPP will oppose any move to give more powers to NAB,” he added.

NAB’s demand

The “request” for bringing these amendments in the Income Tax Ordinance with effect from the year 2001 is made at a time when the bureaucracy has already been complaining about overdoing by NAB. The opposition parties too have lodged protests over what they call “witch-hunting” by NAB.

NAB has asked the government to end immunity in sharing of local and offshore tax records of politically exposed persons including the members of parliament, bureaucracy, public servants and people in service of Pakistan, the holders of public office and their spouses and children, the documents showed.

The sources said the government’s top tier is reviewing NAB’s request and the decision will be taken by Prime Minister Imran Khan.