Govt concerned how to protect bureaucracy, businesspersons from NAB

ISLAMABAD: Lack of consensus between the government and opposition on the issue of changes in the NAB Law continues to haunt both the bureaucracy and businesspersons, and hurts governance and economy.

PTI sources said the government feels that without certain changes in the NAB law the concerns of the bureaucracy and business community could not be addressed.

These sources said of late the matter was again taken up in a recent meeting in Banigala. On the issue of law reforms, it was PM’s Advisor on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan who discussed with the premier the need for addressing the concerns of the bureaucracy and businesspersons vis a vis the NAB law.

The sources said that the prime minister also realizes that without protection from the NAB’s harassment, neither the bureaucracy would perform nor the businesspersons will invest. But the premier as well as his party does not want to turn the NAB into a toothless organization, as is the desire of the PML-N and PPP.

The PTI government had decided, a few months back, to consult all stakeholders, including the opposition parties, to amend the NAB law either through an ordinance or if possible by convening a session of parliament to carry out the required legislation.

On the direction of Prime Minister Imran Khan, the law ministry was working on a new draft ordinance to bring back in the NAB law at least those changes (with amendments) which had vanished a couple of months back because of the expiry of the Ordinance issued in December last year.

A high-level government committee was constituted comprising Asad Umar, Farogh Naseem, Babar Awan, Pervez Khattak and Shahzad Akbar, while the Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser was also engaged to get the law amended within a fortnight.

The Committee was assigned not only to consult the government allies, but it was also mandated to contact the opposition parties as well to reach a consensus on the nature of amendments to be brought into the NAB law.

However, before the Law Ministry could finalize its draft changes even for consideration of the government committee, a document shown as “final draft” suggesting massive changes in the NAB law started widely circulating on the social media.

The mainstream media also published stories on the basis of “final draft”, which was generally perceived as the government's draft. The government, however, termed the document containing “final draft” fake news.

On the one hand, the fake draft brought pressure for the government from within the PTI for containing massive changes to turn the NAB into a totally toothless organization- considered by many a complete deviation from PTI’s high promise of accountability. On the other hand, the fake draft law raised high hopes for the opposition, which demands far more than what the government can offer on the issue of NAB law changes.

The government wanted to make changes to the law either through a Presidential Ordinance or by engaging the opposition parties and Parliament within few weeks of the expiry of The National Accountability (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2019, which was promulgated in end-December having the usual 120-day constitutional life.

The expired Ordinance contained much-appreciated changes made in the NAB law by the PTI government to protect public office holders particularly the civil bureaucracy, and the businesspersons from the Bureau’s harassment.

The National Accountability (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2019, was primarily meant to infuse confidence in bureaucrats and encourage them to take decisions and to not sit on files, affecting the government business.

The legal cover was provided to the actions of civil servants and public officeholders (politicians) done in good faith and in discharge of duties and performance of official functions if their decisions did not bring to them any monetary gain, swelling their assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.

These amendments were introduced through a Presidential Ordinance after the government had realized that neither the businesses would work here nor the bureaucracy will serve unless the abuse of power by NAB is checked by clipping its powers.

The expiry of December 2019 Ordinance has once again made the businesspersons and the bureaucracy vulnerable, as the NAB has now regained its past powers that have been grossly abused and led to a situation where the civil servants as well as the businesspersons clearly told the government that they cannot work in such an environment of harassment and blackmail.

Not only the businesspersons and bureaucrats had complained to the prime minister against the abuse of power by the NAB, they also separately met the Army Chief and sought his help to protect them from harassment.