Govt wants to protect bureaucracy, businessmen from NAB harassment

ISLAMABAD: In the absence of a consensus with the opposition, the government is set to bring its own bill to make necessary amendments to the NAB law to protect the bureaucracy and businessmen from the Bureau’s alleged harassment.

Informed sources say that key ministers, including those heading economic ministries, have been telling the prime minister that without protecting bureaucrats and businessmen from the Bureau’s unnecessary hounding, it is not possible to create a business-friendly environment or achieve economic progress.

For the sake of the economy and good governance, the cabinet ministers are keen that early amendments are made in the National Accountability Ordinance. These sources say that Finance Minister ShaukatTareen had spoken to Prime Minister Imran Khan on the issue and sought necessary changes in the NAB law as soon as possible to protect the bureaucracy and businessmen from the Bureau’s undue interventions. Before even joining the cabinet, Tareen in a television interview had insisted that NAB needed to be checked if the government wanted to improve the economy.

A few days ago, Tareen had reiterated to this correspondent his stance on the NAB law and expected that necessary amendments would be made soon. He confirmed that he had spoken to the prime minister in detail on the subject.

Asad Umar, yet another influential voice in the government, spoke in public a few days ago to highlight the problems being faced by investors and bureaucrats due to the “environment of fear” created by NAB. Umar even went to the extent of saying that the government machinery had “almost frozen” as a result of the fear created by certain NAB actions. When approached, Umar said that a bill to amend the NAB law has already been moved before the National Assembly but The News has been unable to find it.

Another cabinet member also claimed that a bill to amend the NAB law has been moved before the NA. These cabinet members appear to be mixing up another NAB law amendment bill that has been initiated concerning the extension in the term of the Bureau’s prosecutor general.

Sources said that Dr Ishrat Hussain, Shaikh Rashid Ahmad and some others have also been speaking in cabinet meetings about how fearful and paranoid the bureaucracy has become because of NAB.

The government wanted to engage the opposition to make consensus changes in the NAB law but in the present situation there is hardly any chance of the two sides even sitting under one roof to discuss the matter. Even otherwise, the two sides have altogether different stances on the kind of amendments they wish to see in the NAB law.

Opposition parties want massive changes in the NAB law but the government is only interested in restricting the changes to the extent of addressing the concerns of the bureaucracy and the business community.

The government wanted to make changes resembling those that were promulgated by the PTI government in Dec 2019 through the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Ordinance 2019, which lapsed after 120-days of its constitutional life.

The expired ordinance contained much-appreciated changes in the NAB law to protect public office-holders, particularly the civil bureaucracy and businessmen, from the Bureau’s harassment.

The National Accountability (Second Amendment) Ordinance 2019, was primarily meant to infuse confidence in the bureaucrats and encourage them to take decisions and not sit on files, something that had adversely affected government business.

Legal cover was provided to those actions of civil servants and public office-holders (politicians) that were carried out in good faith in the discharge of their duties if their decisions did not bring any monetary gain to them, swelling their assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.

These amendments were introduced through a Presidential Ordinance after the government had realised that neither businesses could function nor the bureaucracy would serve unless the abuse of power by NAB is checked by clipping its powers.

The expiry of the December 2019 ordinance had again made businessmen and the bureaucracy vulnerable as NAB had regained its past powers that had allegedly been grossly abused. It led to a situation where civil servants as well as businessmen clearly told the government that they cannot work in such an environment of harassment and blackmail.

Not only had businessmen and bureaucrats complained to the prime minister against the abuse of power by NAB but they had also separately met the army chief and sought his help to protect them from its excesses.

A NAB official said that the Bureau was pursuing corruption cases as per Constitution and there was nothing illegal in the NAB working. He said there was no witch-hunting on the part of NAB and all inquiries/ cases are based on concrete evidence.

Quoting NAB Chairman Justice (R) Javed Iqbal, he said: “NAB is determined to fulfil its national duties sans caring about any intimidation, browbeating or duress. The NAB officers are performing their corruption eradication duties with dedication.”