Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) criticism of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) continues unabated, with Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif joining his brother Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif in voicing his disapproval of the watchdog organisation. Tersely, the CM warned NAB to “stay within its limits”, adding in the same breath that the government would not allow any department to influence “projects of national importance”. Shahbaz Sharif was of course responding to NAB’s recent interest in auditing the CM’s pet projects, i.e. the Metro Bus Service and the Orange Line Metro Train. With this latest statement, it has become manifestly clear what was behind the sudden change of tone of the PM and the ruling PML-N vis-à-vis NAB.
The controversy began on February 16 when PM Sharif, while making a speech in Bahawalpur, took aim at NAB and warned it against the “wrongful persecution” of ‘honest’ government employees, stating that the watchdog had been descending on the offices and houses of innocent people, harassing and discrediting them under the guise of ensuring accountability. This rebuke was surprising to many, and started a still ongoing debate about the nature of accountability and the need for an empowered watchdog organisation. The surprising aspect about the PM’s criticism was precisely its novelty — for multiple months the PML-N leadership dismissed similar concerns and allegations of an overreaching NAB and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) expressed by leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the government of Sindh. The Sharif brothers and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had steadfastly rejected criticism that federal organisations were targeting the governments of other provinces. Chaudhry Nisar even went as far as to threaten governor’s rule in Sindh if the provincial government persisted in passing legislation that curbed the powers of Rangers and the FIA to raid government and party offices without a warrant. But now that the shoe is on the other foot and Punjab and PML-N officials have come under scrutiny, the federal government has predictably altered its stance and opened itself to fresh accusations of having double standards.
Attempts are underway to curb the powers of NAB and clip its wings; given the history of the PML-N’s respect for parliamentary procedures it is likely that the government will once again employ the steamroller. NAB’s response to the criticism has been mixed; on the one hand the NAB chairman has taken a deferential tone, almost meekly apologising to the PM, while on the other hand there are reports emerging that NAB is set to continue its investigations and unearth reports regarding mega scams that are bound to embarrass and anger the government, as well as the PPP. As such, the PPP and PML-N once again find themselves converged on the same side of a thorny issue. Since it can provide support to the PML-N in its endeavours to change the standard operating procedures of NAB, the PPP is jumping at the opportunity and using these developments to push for a judicial inquiry.
Discussions of double standards and political opportunism aside, the NAB episode has once again brought the topic of accountability to the forefront. For instance, the Orange Line Metro Train as well as CM Sharif’s other mega infrastructure projects that take up a substantial amount of public resources have proved to be deeply divisive and contentious. By most accounts, the CM is assailed on all corners for belligerently pursuing such projects without seeking consensus. In this sense, it is imperative that such projects are scrutinised and audited so that the public is aware of how funds are being spent and directed. Principled arguments in favour of accountability aside, it is also useful to be mindful of the reality and history of NAB and other accountability drives in Pakistan. The entire concept of accountability is tainted by a history of political targeting and score settling. The scope of accountability is limited only to politicians. For ‘accountability’ to be authentic it should encompass politicians, bureaucrats, judges and generals equally. To solve this problem, it is imperative under the given circumstances to have a parliamentary committee overseeing NAB’s affairs.
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