Mandviwalla demands privilege motion against NAB chief

ISLAMABAD: Describing the National Accountability Bureau as the worst department in Pakistan that “is out to destroy the country and its economy,” Senator Salim Mandviwalla has asked the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman, Rana Tanveer Hussain to bring a privilege motion against NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal so that the privilege committee could summon him and ask him as to how his organisation was working.

In a video message that was shared many times on social media, Mandviwalla said: “Whenever NAB is investigated on any forum, these people would run away from accountability for they have no answer to what they are doing.”

Mandviwalla, who is also the finance secretary of the Pakistan Peoples Party, accused the NAB officials of “distributing [recovered] money among them.” He said the NAB chief regularly claim to have handed over recovered monies to the government but changes his stance when appears before the Public Accounts Committee by saying NAB was not supposed to handover any money to the government under the law. “These are corrupt people, involved in doing nothing but corruption.”

He said Rana Sahib should call them to Privilege Committee and make them answerable to what they are doing. “Who are these people who act over an above the Constitution and the Parliament by avoiding the PAC. Unless the Parliament takes action against these officials they would not learn a lesson. It seems all the other departments are scared of them but Parliament should not be scared. But if you don’t take action then it mean you are also scared of NAM. I ask Rana Sahib to stand up as PAC Chairman and take action.

Mandviwalla’s statement came after NAB chairman did not come to attend the meeting and in his place DG NAB (HQ) appeared before the committee as he was appointed as a Principal Accounting Officer after the approval of the Prime Minister to represent the NAB chairman in all the parliamentary committees including the Public Accounts Committee.

This scribe tried to contact NAB spokesperson through phone and text messages but received no reply till the filing of this report. However, in similar instance when NAB was accused of acting against particular persons or groups, it has maintained its stance to carrying out bipartisan accountability in national interest.