PBC hails NAB law reforms

KARACHI: The Pakistan Business Council (PBC) on Thursday welcomed the reform oriented Presidential Ordinance covering the purview and conduct of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

“PBC hopes that political consensus will emerge to have these critical changes approved by both the houses of parliament,” the council said in a handout.

According to the business body’s statement, many of PBC’s recommendations have been incorporated in the Ordinance, the salient ones being: exclusion of all matters related to any type of tax or levy by any government or authorities of the government; protection of decisions taken by the federal and provincial cabinets, their committees, Council of Common Interests, ECNEC and a host of other bodies, including the SBP; limiting the purview of NAB only to holders of public office; removing procedural lapses in public or government work from challenge by NAB unless a holder of public office monetarily or materially benefits from it -this would also cover any report, advice or opinion given in the course of duty by a holder of public office; and transferring pending investigations to the appropriate jurisdictions. “The aforementioned changes will facilitate public-private partnerships and encourage civil servants to take bold and timely decisions to implement the government’s reform agenda, some of which has been pending for several years at the cost, ultimately of people”, said Ehsan Malik, CEO of the Pakistan Business Council.

He also advocated a national consensus on the economy to provide confidence of policy continuity which is affecting growth.