Tarin endorses what secretaries committee had already said about NAB

ISLAMABAD: Although NAB has contradicted the finance minister’s view that government servants are not performing due to the fear of the Bureau, the bureaucracy believes that what Shaukat Tarin said reflects the true situation on the ground.

Sources in the civil service say that the bureaucracy feels so insecure and vulnerable due to NAB’s operations that it had to approach the prime minister and the army chief -- and had even formally spoken through the secretaries committee -- to bring an end to the Bureau’s alleged policy of witch-hunting.

Through the secretaries committee, the bureaucracy had formally conveyed its lack of confidence in NAB’s working and had declared its operations against bureaucrats as “intolerable” and “not acceptable”.

Contrary to how NAB sees its own working, the secretaries committee had conveyed to the government in 2019 to immediately intervene before the Bureau permanently damages the work ethics of the civil service.

The secretaries had said: “The practice of arrest and summons on trivial grounds, aimed at humiliating well respected civil servants is against the principles of good governance, hence not acceptable.” They had added: “Indiscriminate use of authority by NAB officers by issuing the summons and warrants of senior functionaries on issues related to policy formulation, is completely intolerable.”

The secretaries lamented, “Despite verbal assurances in the past, there seems to be no let-up towards the civil service as, even today, the officers are summoned and intimidated without substantive evidence against them.”

They urged that “The need of the hour is to transform such assurances into a legal protection by making substantive amendments in the law.”

Shaukat Tarin has hinted at an amendment in the NAB law to help the bureaucracy work without any fear of NAB. The secretaries committee had lamented, “It is deplorable that Section 36 of NAO grants indemnity to actions taken by NAB in good faith, whereas, all actions taken by other government functionaries are very frequently put under scrutiny being done with mala fide intent, though Section 23A of the Civil Servants Act provides similar indemnity to the civil services as well.”

It is said that in many cases, the NAB actions against civil servants are based not on the material evidence of wrongdoing but on the exercise of judgement in a particular case, which may appear to be flawed at a future point.

Interestingly, the bureaucracy generally complains – and the superior judiciary has also repeatedly endorsed this view -- that the investigation officers of NAB do not have sufficient experience and knowledge about the cases they are handling.

The prime minister and several ministers have, on different occasions, said in public that because of NAB, bureaucrats are not signing files which hurts governance and performance. The secretaries committee had noted exactly the same by saying, “Criminalisation of policy decisions would lead the civil servants to cautiousness and indecision, resulting in a further slowdown of government processes and projects; there are clear signs that this is already happening.

“Recently, the NAB has taken to questioning the decision made by the collective wisdom of the cabinet and its committees. Indifference towards legitimate executive authority will discourage innovation and ingenuity and promote a risk-averse approach among civil servants and senior government functionaries,” the Committee said, adding, “The adverse effects of these developments would eventually be felt by the public at large, as the government will not be able to implement its envisaged agenda, which requires strong commitment, initiative and drive on the part of government functionaries at all levels.”

Following the bureaucracy’s protest, the Imran Khan government introduced certain amendments, through a presidential ordinance, in the NAB law in late 2019 to protect the bureaucrats from NAB’s harassment. However, the ordinance lapsed after completing its 120 days period.

Because of differences between the government and the opposition, the NAB law remained untouched owing to which the environment of fear continued for the bureaucracy.

The finance minister before even joining the Imran Khan cabinet had made it clear that the NAB law had to be amended to check the Bureau's harassment of government servants. Tarin has once again stated his resolve to amend the law. However, it is still not clear how the government will move to tame NAB.

However, NAB has termed the statement of Shaukat Tarin baseless, misleading and contrary to the facts.

Some 1,273 references having a total volume of Rs1,300 billion are under trial in different accountability courts. “Out of which very negligible references are against bureaucracy and such malicious propaganda against the NAB is an attempt to tarnish the image of the NAB and is also aimed at discouraging the bureaucracy,” the Bureau added.

The accountability watchdog said that bureaucracy is the jugular vein of any country and the NAB not only respects bureaucracy but also acknowledges its services. “NAB Chairman Justice (R) Javed Iqbal has served the country in different capacities including acting chief justice of Pakistan and is quite well versed with the issues of bureaucracy,” the NAB spokesman said.