Several died in NAB custody: Mandviwalla

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Monday echoed with kudos for the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for doing its job well from the treasury, while the opposition lawmakers called for the across the board accountability, as presently they were facing political victimisation.

Taking part in the debate on the anti-graft body under the opposition’s requisitioned agenda, Senator Salim Mandviwalla, who belongs to the PPP, said that NAB would have to be checked. He added, “You are taking people to a level, where they are left with no other option but to commit suicide”. He urged that human rights issues, relating to NAB should be referred to the House Standing Committee on Human Rights, as people were dying in its custody. He named some individuals, who he claimed, died in its custody, including Brig (R) Asad Munir, Prof Tahir Amin and Zafar Iqbal.

The legislator said that he had written a letter to the NAB to inform the Senate before arresting or summoning any senator.

“I have so far received 100 petitions from people, who are in jail or rolling in NAB courts and at the same time, there was abuse by the NAB,” he charged. Senator Mandviwalla said he was told that they (NAB) would also see the chairman of the Senate.

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani said that he would talk to leader of the House and the deputy chairman on how to improve the national institution. Former interior minister Rehman Malik called for ‘triangle accountability’ i.e. accountability of bureaucracy, judiciary and politicians: a concept given by Ibne Khaldun.

Opposition senators expressed reservations over the process of accountability and questioned the logic behind arresting someone on the basis of charges and then going to the court for remand and media trial of the accused.

Winding up the debate, Adviser to Prime Minister on Accountability and Ministry of Interior Shahzad Akbar said that the process of accountability was not only the experience of Pakistan but also in other countries of the world, such institutions were working there and had similar laws, like Malaysia, India, Kenya, South Africa and Argentine.

He explained that income beyond sources is a criminal offense. He said other countries have the same clauses of accountability, while arrests are made in India without a warrant. He pointed out that Pakistan also had international commitments like under the UN Convention against Corruption, there was an obligation to have an institution of accountability. He explained that NAB was not created by PTI government and those who died in were not arrested by the PTI government.

Shahzad Akbar said that Pakistan has a law of disqualification for 10 years but in Argentina there was disqualification for entire life while in some countries life imprisonment was imposed.

“Both (PPP and PML-N) governments have made a lot of amendments in 10 years, which includes the 18th Amendment, but the NAB law was not amended. The Panama case did not start in our government, the fake account case did not start in our government, we didn’t do these things,” he said. Shahzad said the opposition was talking about media trial. “If there was a media trial on something that has been acted upon, take us to court. It was made an issue itself. If you talk on accountability and the government, the other party will respond.”

The PTI government, he noted, brought an ordinance to improve the NAB law, which was rejected by the House.

“I read in the newspaper that there were 13 deaths in NAB custody. It was a surprise to me. Eleven deaths occurred in judicial remand in which you are not in NAB custody. It was not the fault of NAB, Asad Munir was never arrested, linking him this way is an abuse of NAB, the other two deaths were in the custody of NAB, but there was no allegation of violence by their families,” Shahzad Akbar reminded.

Leader of Opposition Raja Muhammad Zafarul Haq strongly disagreed with the adviser and said it was not an even-handed accountability but political victimisation and this impression was spread all over the country.

The PTI Senator Faisal Javed said that the government was ready for dialogue on issues relating to public, but not on individuals.

Senator Waleed Iqbal said no court had declared NAB law as null and void. “It is unilateral to target an institution which has no representation in the House,” he said.