Business Recorder Editorial November 22, 2019

Winds of change?

Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) former Justice Javed Iqbal while addressing an award distribution ceremony on November 19, 2019 made the startling comment that winds of change were coursing through the country and no one should think that the present rulers were exempt from accountability. Ostensibly the context was his strong contestation of the perception that NAB had been conducting one-sided accountability (if not a politically partisan witch-hunt). However, his statement that the perception of one-sidedness was incorrect as they had to first look into the cases of those who had been in power for the last 30-35 years and would now have to look into the cases of those who had been in power for the last 12 months or so sparked off a debate on the meaning of Justice Iqbal’s defence of NAB’s record. He went on to assert that there would be no deal, leniency or NRO-like concessions to anyone as there cannot be any compromise on the eradication of corruption. Justice Iqbal made it clear that the threats of the powerful and influential end outside the gates of NAB. NAB’s target of achieving a corruption-free Pakistan was a national duty that no one could deter him from carrying out. He advised those politicians who were on NAB’s radar and were criticising the accountability watchdog to opt for the plea bargain option. He said NAB was not allowed to work in Sindh but would not be deterred by the obstacles the Sindh government was allegedly putting in NAB’s path. The Chairman NAB highlighted the fact that 1,270 references were still pending before the accountability courts in which only 25 judges were hearing them. He advocated the number of judges be raised to at least 50 to ensure quicker disposal of these pending cases. Justice Iqbal conceded that investigating white-collar crime was no easy task, especially since such crime transcended borders.

While the speech of Justice Iqbal has set off a storm of speculation on whether the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) government was now going to be targeted by NAB, it bears recalling that NAB has been severely criticised by the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) but of late also by the ruling PTI for ‘selective accountability’ and the ‘harassment of investors and the bureaucracy’. The latter in particular has aroused the ire of the government as it has impacted investment and paralysed the bureaucracy. If the purpose of Chairman NAB former Justice Javed Iqbal was merely to redress the widely held perception of one-sided accountability, there can be no quarrel with that. However, the timing and the explicit reference to the PTI government have certainly sent tongues wagging whether there is more to this development than meets the eye. If Justice Iqbal wishes to restore and enhance NAB’s credibility in the face of the negative perceptions of its functioning on his watch, he could do worse than address some of the anomalies if not rough methods that have characterised its actions. And if all-sided accountability is conducted to include the ruling party, that would certainly go a long way towards righting the negative perceptions of NAB’s track record so far.