- Who does it really help?
It would have been better if the much-needed amendments to the NAB law had been announced more responsibly, without prematurely leaking them to the media after the cabinet meeting, leading to contradictory reports about what had actually been decided. Original reports had all but rendered the NAB toothless, taking away its core powers by restricting lengthy detainments without bail and reduction in the remand period from 90-days to 14-days. Both these features of the NAB law have now been rolled back. These were welcome changes as they brought some rationality to the detention of someone accused of having committed a white-collar crime. So the amendment does little to provide relief to the opposition that has been at the receiving end of the PTI’s vengeful politics à la NAB.
Most of the senior leadership of both the PML-N and PPP are either still in the slammer or out on bail as charges are yet to be proven. It is therefore no wonder why they are calling this amendment, promulgated through a presidential ordinance no less, a massive NRO that Prime Minister Imran Khan is giving to save people in his party and his friends. The Peshawar BRT and Malam Jabba cases, if treated the same way as other investigations into malfeasance, would result in some uncomfortable arrests for within the PTI government. Perhaps those cases cannot be held-off or ignored the way they have been any longer. Most of the relief in this amendment is for the business community that will no longer fall into NAB’s jurisdiction. The bureaucracy may feel less hesitant to sign off on official documents now as well. But it should be asked of the PTI government’s accountability masters, starting from the very top, as to why they were, only a few weeks ago, praising NAB for its work, and criticizing those calling for amending the institution’s law ‘corrupt and guilty individuals trying to escape justice’ only to clip its wings in a heartbeat when its suited themselves. The motives behind this move are being peddled as a way to make accountability more ‘effective’, but that is hard to believe given its timing and method.
