Make NAB self-accountability effective !
NAB is the foremost institution of accountability in Pakistan, there are good and bad people in every institution, qualified people bring good name to the institution, while incompetent people bring disrepute to the whole institution, but despite all this, institutions are expected to perform well.
The general reputation of the NAB is that of a good institution, its Chairman Javed Iqbal is a retired Supreme Court adjudicator who speaks of impartial accountability and strives for it.
While the NAB makes huge recoveries from corrupt people, it also treats the victims.
Propaganda against the NAB is also carried out by those who come under strict accountability, which does not affect the performance and commitment of the NAB.
There is no doubt that justice-based accountability leads to the strength of any democratic country and state institutions.
A Justice-based accountability system not only brings qualified and reputable people to the forefront of politics, but also encourages people to enter the public service sector, but most of our accountability institutions and accountability processes have been used for their own purposes.
Whenever the performance of the NAB is questioned, the Chairman NAB has never remained silent, always defending the institution to the fullest, and where the performance is clear, any shortcomings in the institution are also rectified.
However, if the esteemed court has pointed out the involvement of NAB officers in major frauds, then it is a matter of concern for the NAB, as the role of its people should be most transparent in the country.
If the perpetrators of dereliction of duty are identified by the esteemed judiciary or complaints are received from the general public, then the Chairman NAB should take immediate departmental action against such people instead of remaining silent.
Despite the decision of Chairman NAB to rid the corrupt elements of the institution, two NAB officers were sacked three years ago after being found guilty of taking bribes.
The accused have filed a petition in the High Court against their dismissal on which the court had directed the NAB to complete the inquiry within three months, but the NAB officers did not feel the need to complete the inquiry against these corrupt officers for three years.
In this context, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court seems to be right in saying that the scam was deliberate so that the case would be spoiled and the culprits could be saved from punishment.
Undoubtedly, like other institutions, there are some black sheep in NAB who are deliberately part of the irregularities. Such people involved in irregularities in the institution do not deserve any concessions.
Following the remarks of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, it has become imperative for the Chairman to devise a new strategy to root out corruption from the NAB.
Instead of monitoring the performance of the NAB, steps should be taken to rectify the culture of the NAB and reorganize the institution.
For this reason, the NAB needs to focus on streamlining the process of self-accountability as well as bringing the cases under investigation to a logical conclusion so that negative perception about the national institution is eliminated and accountability is possible without discrimination.
—The writer is a regular columnist, based in Lahore.
