Sword of Damocles: Actual scrutiny will begin after elections says NAB

NAB has vetted more than 24,000 candidates for criminal history and loan default and submitted the details to the ECP.

ISLAMABAD: It’s not over yet.

The actual scrutiny of nomination papers will begin after next month’s elections, says the chief of the country’s top corruption watchdog.

“Concealing facts is a criminal offence. Anyone [any lawmaker] who conceals facts should not only be disqualified but all his privileges should also be taken back,” Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari, the chairman of National Accountability Bureau (NAB), told a select group of journalists on Sunday.

According to him, it would be easier for NAB to examine the details of the 728 elected representatives in the National Assembly and four provincial legislatures after the elections.

NAB has vetted more than 24,000 candidates for criminal history and loan default and submitted the details to the Election Commission of Pakistan. However, given the time shortage, all the details provided by the candidates could not be probed.

“NAB will investigate into the claims made by the candidates in their nomination papers to see if they concealed any facts,” Bokhari said. “If anyone is found guilty, NAB will recommend the ECP take action against him/her. And subsequently, they could be disqualified,” he added.

The ECP has already declared that the scrutiny process was ongoing and would continue post-elections.

Referring to NAB’s information on the nomination papers of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, Bokhari said the bureau provided almost identical information to the ECP that was already provided by Nawaz in his nomination papers.

He added that NAB did not reveal information of any other candidate to the media as the bureau was not mandated to object to anyone’s candidature. “The bureau provided the information to the ECP as it stands in records,” he said. “The political leadership should show restraint and not criticise state institutions.”

District level accountability

NAB was considering widening its scope down to the district level, in order to reach out to the complaints of the general public and strengthen the regulatory and accountability system in the country, Bokhari said. The old mechanism of depending on enforcement regime has not worked out because more than 60 anti-corruption laws made in the past have failed.

“NAB has already approached the prime minister for getting two of its arms– the Economic Crime Wing and Anti Corruption Wing – back from the FIA to strengthen the bureau,” Bokahri said. This would ensure NAB reaches out to the district level faster instead of starting from scratch.

Expanding manpower

Bokhari also said NAB was heavily understaffed as it was working with only 28% of its strength. However, 260 new investigators have been recruited and they were being trained by experts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States, European Union and other countries. “We at least need an 8,000-strong workforce, while currently we are working with 1,700 people only,” Bokhari said.

He said that the Rental Power Projects (RPPs) cases were being actively pursued and no one would be spared if sufficient evidence was found for filling references against them, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2013.