–PM says NAB Amendment Ordinance 2019 seeks to insulate bureaucracy from anti-graft body’s fear
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said that the government’s decision to amend the laws of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was taken in the national interest.
On December 27, the government curtailed NAB’s powers by amending the country’s accountability law through a presidential ordinance.
Addressing a gathering of civil servants in the federal capital, the premier said that the main purpose of NAB Amendment Ordinance 2019 was to insulate the bureaucracy from NAB’s fear.
“The decision was difficult because a party that has had a 22-year-long struggle against accountability and is considered strict and is viewed to have this mission, is under greater scrutiny,” said the prime minister, adding that “there was a lot of criticism, including by the opposition and it was not easy because we had to carry our party too because in a democracy you need to develop consensus within the party and its leadership.”
“For that, our governance system needs to be streamlined so decisions can be made expediently,” he said, adding that decisions were not being made due to a fear of NAB. The concerns were legitimate because so many were probed over procedural mistakes. So we realised we will need to take this step and offer bureaucrats protection, as well as the business community,” he said.
He said that the business community does not fall within the purview of NAB as it is, “because the very definition of corruption is “using public office for private gain”.
“If you read the amendment, you will see that it simply provides for NAB to not interfere in their business dealings. And the tax cases will be under the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) as it is. They have nothing to do with NAB,” he added.
“Besides, we have the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to hold them accountable,” he added.
Prime Minister Imran said that he had repeatedly tried to make the NAB chairman understand the situation, however the accountability watchdog remained defiant in its actions.
Speaking about the economic situation, the premier said that the economy of the country can only be strengthened with industrial growth. He said that the government has stabilised the country’s economy and now efforts are being made to accelerate economic growth.
“Our real aim is wealth creation so the country which is buried under the burden of loans can be freed,” he said.
The premier said that in the last 10 years, Pakistan has mounted a debt of Rs24 trillion. “It was 6 trillion but from 2008-2018 it rocketed to Rs30 trillion. Half of the tax we collected last year was spent on interest payments. The key right now is wealth creation in the country,” he reiterated.
He said that 2020 will be the year of growth and development and the development is not possible without wealth creation. He added that over 40 industries are related to the housing sector and promotion of this sector will help in creating job opportunities.
Referring to the New Pakistan Housing Programme, the PM said that the project’s aim to build 50,000 houses could not move forward without the bureaucrats’ help and support.
