One of the striking features of a new accountability bill the government proposes to introduce in the National Assembly is that it does not consider bribery as corruption, sources have revealed.
This emerged as the PPP-led government readies itself to establish a new accountability watchdog named National Accountability Commission (NAC) to replace the existing National Accountability Bureau (NAB). The task of overseeing the process of this transformation has been assigned to a former banker.
The transformation of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) into National Accountability Commission (NAC) will be overseen by the Director General of NAB’s Financial Crimes Investigation Wing, Kauser Iqbal Malik, who was also appointed as the head of the Joint Investigating Team constituted by the NAB chairman to probe the alleged business deal between Dr Arsalan Iftikhar and Malik Riaz, sources familiar with the matter revealed.
A copy of the order issued by the NAB headquarters in this regard is available with The Express Tribune. The contents of the order issued with the stamp and signature of Tariq Aleem, the additional director at the NAB headquarters, reads that Kauser Malik will oversee the entire process, under the guidelines of the government and the appropriate law.
Sources familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune that the purpose of a new accountability bill to replace the existing National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999, was to save the skin of some influential dignitaries of the federal government, including former prime minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, the current premier, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, four federal ministers, an adviser to the premier and some top bureaucrats of the federal government, allegedly involved in corruption cases, which are also pending before the Supreme Court.
According to the existing NAO, NAB cannot give a clean chit to these dignitaries because of strong documented and oral evidence which has been gathered by NAB’s investigators during the course of inquiries as well as the investigations carried out, particularly in the alleged corruption cases of the Pakistan Steel Mills, the rental power projects, Pakistan Railways, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, Hajj scandal, National Insurance Company Limited scandal, the National Logistic Cell scam, etc.
Despite several reservations and the expected opposition from the PML-N, the PPP-led government has nonetheless decided to introduce a new accountability bill in the National Assembly and press ahead with the transformation of NAB into NAC, sources said.
Sources added that the proposed accountability bill does not consider bribery as corruption, which is defined as such under Section 9(A) of the NAO. The new bill also ignores the basic philosophy of corruption as envisaged in Section 33(B) and 33(C) of NAO.
Under the existing NAO, the chairman of NAB can only be removed under the same process used to remove a judge of the Supreme Court, as this guarantees him tenure of four years and the liberty to act without any political pressure. But under the new proposed bill, the chairman will remain under constant threat of being removed before his term expires.
Under the current NAO, NAB has the power to make a request for legal assistance from foreign countries to freeze, confiscate and dispose of assets held in those countries by local politicians accused in corruption cases. However, the new bill would limit this power for NAC.
Hafiz Muhammad Irfan, the Public Relations Officer of NAB, told The Express Tribune that the office order regarding the transformation of NAB to NAC was an internal arrangement.
Asked if the government wanted to introduce the new bill to save the skin of influential personalities, Irfan replied that NAB will continue to conduct inquiries and investigations according to the spirit of the exiting NAO till its existence.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 3rd, 2012.
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Even if this Bill is passed by parliament, the Supreme Court can overrule it, as it did with the NRO, does the PPP not understand this? Personally think that this exercise is an electioneering stunt, as is the so called FBR "Amnesty Scheme" , if the government was at all serious about the tax "Amnesty" it would have been passed long ago by a presidential ordinance.
It will be shameful act for all those heads of parties and MPA's who will support this bill. Please have mercy on state of Pakistan and it's people.
If NA passes this bill then we can be sure that this country is legally governed by corrupts.
Pakistan is a true democracy with no hold bars as there is total freedom to loot, kill, rape, forcibly change the religion of minorities but no action is taken against the guilty as they are protected by flawed laws and others by religious faiths which remains unchallenged even by law of the land.
When loot and plunder are more than acceptable in the society we live in we should not really be concerned about bribery. After all no less a statesman like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru said that corruption is the price of efficiancy in the third world. Just try getting your driving licence renewed. They will declare you legally blind if you use the saintly option of not spending money through the process.
Keep in mind just like constitution any law passed by the NA can be changed by the NEXT government. If it happens to be PMLN or PTI or both together they can amend this law to correct its deficiencies.
Read this news and awake up. http://rt.com/news/saudi-arabia-prophet-mosque-615/
Democracy by the few, for the few in the name of the many.
And finally, E.T. calls a spade a spade. No doubt this bill will be passed overnight, unlike the anti-terror and witness protection bills which will have a real impact in reducing terrorism, especially in Karachi.
Maybe its better to dissolve NAB altogether rather than having a "puppet" NAC. The spirit and the purpose of NAB will be doomed by this bill and the govt will have to face a lot more criticism and slashing everywhere.