ACCOUNTABILITY noose is further tightening around the
leaders of opposition parties. Wednesday saw National Accountability Bureau arresting PPP stalwart Khurshid Shah from his residence in Banigala, Islamabad, in a case of possessing assets beyond known sources of income. Already, the elected representatives including PPP Co-Chairperson Asif Ali Zardari and PML (N) leaders Khawaja Saad Rafique and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi are in the detention of NAB in different cases of corruption.
There are no two viewpoints that those who plundered the national exchequer must be brought to justice and in this regard the success of the NAB especially in the fake bank accounts case is really appreciable as it has made the largest recovery of its history in the case by retrieving Rs 10.6 billion through plea bargain from the accused persons. However, at the same time, it is also important that the accountability process does not give the impression of being selective and discriminatory in nature aimed against the opponents of the government. Thus far, there is a general impression amongst the people that only those people are being nabbed who are quite vocal against the government’s policies both inside and outside Parliament. This will not augur well for overall political environment in the country especially at a time when the country really requires unity to face the external challenges especially the one thrown up by Modi government by revoking the special status of occupied Kashmir. Apart from the opposition members, the NAB should also speed up work on the inquiries and investigations pending against the sitting government members and ministers. The accountability process must move forward without any discrimination so that nobody could point finger on it. Then it is also important that these cases are taken to logical conclusion without any delay at the earliest as the people really want to know the truth and recovery of the plundered amount. As very rightly pointed out by Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa, the anti-graft body is not meant only to arrest the people but its main objective should be to prove cases against the accused, and for this the NAB’s prosecution needs to be strengthened. It should have an adequate budget to hire the best lawyers and their competence levels should be equal to those of lawyers hired by the accused especially in high-profile cases.