Fixing accountability

This refers to the article, 'Restructuring NAB' (July 26) by Dr Farrukh Saleem. The writer has suggested restructuring of NAB due to delayed decisions on corruption cases by NAB courts. This is an acknowledged fact that when the magnitude of purchase of goods and services is on the higher side, the volume of corruption also increases correspondingly. The writer has failed to identify the root cause of corruption. Corruption starts in the following steps: conceiving a project, exaggeration of cost of the project, commission of the finance department finally the approving authority. Out of Rs100, fifty percent goes to the people mentioned above and one does not require imagination to understand the mechanism and the route leads to major corruption. Instead of restructuring NAB, we need reforms in the judiciary, because NAB’s efforts go waste when the accused gets stay orders and bails on major corruption cases. As long as we don't amend the laws to punish the people on documented corruption, restructuring is not going to make any headway. With an 8.5 percent conviction rate, it is better to wind up this most controversial organisation and replace it with special speedy courts to decide the cases within 10 days. There should be final special appellate courts to hear appeals in 10 days.

The SC has ordered the establishment of 120 additional NAB courts; that is again a temporary solution and cannot be a substitute for a proper system where high-profile cases are decided in 30 days. That is only possible if laws are amended to suit the convenience of the state, not the culprit. This will also eliminate highhandedness by NAB in certain cases like that of Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman which does not even fall in the purview of NAB as no corruption is involved.

Mukhtar Ahmed

Karachi