The National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which has worked at a slow pace for the last many years, is in the news nowadays for the proactive stance it has taken. Of late, it has taken up several cases that were lying on the backburner.

This hyperactivity, as explained by politicians from Sindh, is being seen with suspicion by quarters and termed a strategy to discredit politicians. Furthermore, there are allegations that NAB is carrying out selective accountabilit. The fact that mostly the politicians and officials from Sindh have been targeted so far and those from Punjab spared to a great extent has strengthened this perception.

The bureau has also been criticised for failing to recover money in many cases and surrendering to plea bargain agreements against partial payments of looted money. For many, this is tantamount to sharing of corruption proceeds by the government and the convicts.

So, the question here is that whether the NAB is serving the purpose it meant to or it is just an exercise in futility? How much money it has recovered so far and what is the number of cases resolved are also the valid concerns of the masses. There is also a need for clarity on the charges of political victimisation of opponents on NAB, which was once blamed for running a political cell as well.

Some of these questions have been answered in a report submitted by NAB Additional Prosecutor General (APG), Akbar Tarar, in the Supreme Court in July last. This report was submitted along with a report of 150 mega scams to the Supreme Court bench hearing a case regarding performance of NAB.

As per this report, NAB has recovered Rs 264 billion during the last 15 years, starting from 2000 to 2015, and the largest recovery for a year was Rs 88.263 billion in 2001. Of the Rs 264 billion, Rs19.046 billion have come as voluntary return, Rs 10.712 billion as result of plea bargains, Rs 181.367 billion on account of bank default/restructuring/rescheduling of loans, Rs 15.95 billion in the case of Punjab Cooperatives Liquidation Board, Rs 29.24 billion in the form of court fines and Rs 7.372 billion as indirect recoveries.

The NAB authorities dispel the impressions of partiality and selective accountability. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Taj Haider alleges that there is more of noise about corruption and less action to root it out. Talking to TNS, he says, "the overambitious designs of NAB in Sindh are a proof that it wants to politicise the so-called accountability drive. "

Haider says accountability is a provincial subject and every provinces has an Anti Corruption Establishments (ACE) tasked with the mandate to check corruption. The NAB, he says, shall only handle the federal department that are 58 in number. "So, one can say there is enough work for the NAB to do event at federal level."

He says the Sindh government plans to introduce a bill in the National Assembly for setting up a neutral accountability body in the provinces. "It is perceived that all the appointments will be made on merit and it will work according to the law and not serve as a tool to victimise political opponents," he adds.

He says history is replete with examples, including the trial of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, where PPP has been targeted and the same is happening once again. "So, there is no second opinion on the need for safeguards against victimisation under accountability laws."

The most effective way, he says, to check corruption is to "document the existing black economy and plug tax evasion worth Rs 1.2 trillion to Rs 1.3 trillion. By tracing the expenses made by a person and matching his known sources of income through IT-based technology, the money earned through corruption can be easily detected".

He says they have raised the collection under provincial sales tax on services from Rs 6 billion to Rs 49 billion in a period of just four years. "If a small province like Sindh can perform this feat, why not the federal government with all the resources."

Haider says the PPP government appointed Justice (retd) Deedar Husain Shah as Chairman NAB but he was opposed on grounds that he had a tilt towards the party. "My question is that if he could be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court then why cannot he be the chairman of NAB."

A former NAB official does not accept the allegation that the bureau has failed to achieve the desired results. Talking with TNS on conditions of anonymity, he says, "the courts are awarding bails to the accused in NAB laws despite the fact that all crimes investigated by the bureau are non-bailable."

"There are cases," he says, "where the accused have been granted pre-arrest bails and those also for indefinite periods. This has made it extremely difficult for the NAB to investigate cases and recover the looted money."

However, he defends the plea bargain mechanism saying it is prevalent in many countries and helps recover the looted money. Explaining the process he says "the convict agrees to submit an affidavit and pay an agreed amount against a guarantee that he will not be sent to jail."

A person opting for plea bargain is not allowed to hold a public office or take loan for 10 years. "Besides, he is deemed convicted-a stigma that he carries for the rest of his life."

The official adds that though there is a perception that plea bargain promotes corruption but it is not so. It has been very effective in getting back the looted money and returning to whom it belonged to, he belonged to. He urges removal of corrupt officials who he says have permeated into the ranks of NAB and supervision of the bureau by Supreme Court.

Nawazish Ali Khan Asim, spokesman NAB, says that it is just a perception that NAB has become extraordinarily active under some sinister plan. The fact, he says, is that the existing chairman has introduced a quantified grading system under which all the cases will be investigated within a stipulated time. "Hopefully, there will be no backlog and all the cases will reach a logical conclusion."

The whole process, according to NAB spokesman, starting from filing of the complaint, verification and investigation to the filing of reference shall be completed within 10 months.

He says the NAB has recruited enough staff, including investigation officers (IOs), counsels and prosecutors to come over the shortage of human resource. "Earlier IOs conducted inquiries but now the NAB cases are being investigated by Combined Investigation Teams (CITs) that have independent experts in banking, account etc on them as well. The working of NAB has improved considerably due to these steps," he adds.

NAB has also expedited process of investigating the 150 notorious mega scams and the NRO cases falling in its preview which were re-opened on the orders of the court.

On the charges of NAB being selective in picking up cases, he says "this is a totally wrong impression as private individuals, civil servants and politicians from different parties and provinces are being investigated."

He says had the operation been targeted against a political party like PPP, NAB would not have acquitted Naheed Khan and Makhdoom Ameen Faheem after a fair investigation.