Pakistan’s politics is always very uncertain, unpredictable and unprincipled. Political players, including religious, civil-military officers and feudal lords, play their Machiavellian games just to preserve their own partisan interests. They become united and even don’t feel any shame to use threats and parliamentary power for controlling any force or institution which threatens their rule by exposing their corruption and other unpatriotic activities.
The PML-N leadership is following the same undemocratic and unpatriotic practice. Last week, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has threatened to clip the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)’s wings.
On February 16, Nawaz Sharif said: “NAB is harassing government officers. They (bureaucrats) are afraid of taking decisions (signing of files of different projects) because of the NAB harassment. NAB terrifies the government officers, hindering them from performing their duty.” He further said the NAB officials entered the houses and offices of “innocent people” without verifying the authenticity of corruption or other charges. “I have brought the matter to the notice of the NAB chairman a couple of times. He should take notice. Otherwise, the government will take legal action in this regard,” added Nawaz Sharif.
Then, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif has also warned NAB to “stay within its limits”, adding in the same breath that the government would not allow any department to influence “projects of national importance”.
It is very interesting that the PPP, which is not happy with NAB in Sindh, has taken no time to welcome this new development.
Commenting on Nawaz Sharif’s remarks, former president Asif Ali Zardari said the FIA was also victimizing the PPP. “Mian Sahib, not only NAB, but your FIA is also doing the same job. Dr. Asim is not involved in corruption, and one of your ministers has also conceded this,” he said in a statement.
The PTI, has severely criticised the PM’s statement. The PTI leader Imran Khan warned the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), saying that “any of its move to clip powers of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) would be thwarted by his party tooth and nail”.
While addressing a press conference at his residence in Bani Gala along with Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Pervez Khattak, Imran Khan said: "PM was openly threatening NAB if it was going to do some good work.
"Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly had appointed Chairman NAB Qamar Zaman Chaudhry through a consensus, Khan said.
"I have been the opponent of the appointment through this procedure because there is a conflict of interest as both parties are facing corruption cases in the bureau," he said, adding that hurdles should not be created in the way of NAB if it was going to perform some accountability work.
On the other hand, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said, on February 21, that “the federal government is neither afraid of, nor annoyed with, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and is not planning to clip the body's powers”.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Nisar clarified that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had only advised NAB not to threaten businessmen and investors after receiving complaints from the community.
"This institution, NAB was created by former dictator General Pervez Musharraf to target PML-N, and the previous PPP government, too, used it against PML-N but if the bureau could not bring anything against the party in those years, how can they do it today?" asked Nisar. Nisar accused the previous PPP government of making money from Haj revenues , adding that other corruption scandals like "EOBI, PSO, Abandoned Properties Evacuee Trust, New Islamabad Airport and PIA" all emerged during the PPP regime.
Nisar stressed that the FIA has played an impartial role in investigating these scams without any political influence, adding that the PML-N government is ready to brief all opposition parties over the issue.
The Punjab Law Minister Rana Sana-Ullah has also defended the prime minister’s criticism of NAB. He said that “there is no pressure on the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Prime Minister (PM) only wants it to function with added responsibility.” He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif did not criticise NAB, but what he said should be perceived as a recommendation.
The law minister also “blamed it for making big businessmen and investors like Mian Mansha apprehensive about launching new business and industrial projects. He claimed that this would also undermine the efforts for privatisation of state enterprises running in losses.
"What does NAB want to dig out from Raiwind Road’s 16-year-old project?" asked Sanaullah”.
In reaction to Sanaullah’s statement, Sindh Education Minister Nisar Khuhro said that at least the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has found a friend in the issue that the party is suffering of for long. Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid, while talking to the media in the federal capital said that the "lion’s tail has been stepped on by a hippopotamus”.
It is very interesting that when NAB pursued accountability in Sindh, the PML-N leadership was happy with it and it did not say anything against its procedures. The PPP leaders and its government in Sindh complained about the disposition of NAB and the FIA. The PML-N did not pay heed to their complaints. But, now, it was the prime minister’s turn to take on NAB after coming to know that several PML-N’s big guns at the federal level and in Punjab are under investigation.
A source in NAB told Dawn that the prime minister had shown his frustration over the bureau after it hinted at “thoroughly” investigating some of the projects like LNG, Metro Bus, Orange Train and LDA City. Besides, NAB has yet to clear the premier in cases of recruitment in the Federal Investigation Agency and construction of Raiwind Road. A couple of PML-N legislators from Daska and Okara, Punjab Education and Sports Minister Rana Mashhood and a close aide to Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif are also facing corruption inquiries. “The main thing bothering PM Sharif is that the NAB chairman is not allowing the PML-N government to interfere in the bureau’s affairs, raising his suspicions about some kind of unofficial liaison between NAB and the establishment,” he said.
NAB spokesman Nawazish Ali remained tight-lipped when Dawn asked him about the status of the NAB investigation into Metro Bus/Orange Train, FIA recruitment, LNG and Raiwind Road cases.
Advocate Saad Rasool told Dawn that the government might bring an ordinance before tabling a bill in parliament to make NAB like the Ehtesab Bureau of Saifur Rehman.
“The displeasure the prime minister showed about NAB today indicates that he intends to curtail the powers of its chairman. Under Section 270 of the Constitution, the NAB chief is independent in administrative affairs and is not answerable to anyone. Through an amendment to the constitution the reporting authority of the NAB head can be the prime minister,” he said. Anyone having grievances against NAB could move the court and this was the only option available under the law, Mr Rasool added. Sources said the PPP would be more than willing to clip the wings of NAB. “The PPP will fully support any amendment to the NAB law brought to parliament,” they said.
All these developments have perturbed the prime minister exceedingly; he does not want to lose the PML-N’s popularity, monopoly of power and resources in Punjab. But, should not get worried because the track record of NAB clearly shows that the rulers are not held accountable for their corruption in Pakistan.
Some rulers may face accountability when they are removed from power. Even in such cases, the ousted rulers can save themselves from accountability by agreeing to work smoothly with rulers and governments. Keeping in view this tradition, we can say that NAB will not hold the Sharif brothers, their senior ministers and other beneficiaries responsible for any corruption.
This is also quite evident from NAB’s response to the prime minister’s criticism.
NAB spokesperson, Nawasih Ali Asim, has said in a statement that “the organisation inherited some problems and it [is quickly] taking necessary measures to resolve them”. This reply clearly unmasks the weak nature of our so-called NAB, which is not free from political pressures . It must be independent but, unfortunately, it is not in Pakistan.
One thing which still worries the PM, his brother and other PML-N's leaders is the role of the establishment in the coming days. If the establishment gives its support to NAB, its chairman, who is also a former army officer, can take a strict stand against the PML-N's leadership for indulging in misdeeds and corruption. The prime minister's statement regarding NAB gets more significance in this context.
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