The opposition on Tuesday rejected the government's proposal to appoint a retired military officer as the new head of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) while expressing reservations over the way accountability was conducted in recent years.
Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman brushed aside the proposal during an hour-long meeting with the top aide of President General Pervez Musharraf, Tariq Aziz, here at the Parliament House.
Sources told Business Recorder that besides discussion on many issues, Tariq Aziz also formally extended an invitation to the opposition leader to be part of the proposed all parties conference (APC).
Talking newsmen after the rendezvous that he termed as accidental, Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman said that Aziz also conveyed the rulers' desire to name a retired senior army officer as NAB chief. The sitting head Lieutenant General Munir Hafeez is bowing out.
"We don't call it consultation as dubbed by Tariz Aziz sahib. We are also not against accountability, but NAB has failed to come up to the masses' expectations", said Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, who is the secretary general of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal(MMA).
He alleged that the Bureau had been used to blackmail people and serve the rulers' political ends. "There is a dire need to allay apprehensions in this connection", the Maulana emphasised.
About the on-going relief and rehabilitation operations, the MMA leader reiterated the opposition's demand that the Parliament should be taken into confidence in this context.
He also cautioned against military officers heading so many institutions, saying such a trend would further add to widespread apprehensions and reservations over their justification in holding civilian slots. "We don't want to draw political mileage," he added.
Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman expressed dissatisfaction over the world community's financial assistance vis-à-vis the earthquake disaster, saying after the tsunami tragedy, which was of much lesser intensity, the world donated $10 billion, besides as many as 1,000 helicopters took part in rescue and relief operations.
He called for serious pondering as to why the world community's response to the country's calamity was not that much enthusiastic and generous as demonstrated in the wake of tsunami. "So much so, General Musharraf himself conceded that the international community had shown double standard when it comes to tsunami and the recent killer quake," he maintained.
The MMA leader pointed out that, at present, those who were described as terrorists were engaged in massive relief operations in NWFP, Northern Areas, and Kashmir while those who were called allies and friends, turned their back to the catastrophe.
Tariq Aziz, in his brief remarks, said neither there was any specific agenda for the meeting nor did he bring any message for Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman. After the meeting, he was to proceed to the Prime Minister Secretariat.
Some reports say that the government is interested in appointing ex-Corps Commander Lahore Shahid Nazir as the new NAB chairman.