The bill of Holder of Public Office (Accountability) Act, 2009, to repeal NAB Ordinance 1999 is a vague bill, made only for the elected parliamentarians, excluding civil servants, local government members, and armed forces personnel, and is actually National Reconciliation Act, a continuation of NRO.
The bill requires major modifications. It begins with wrong notion, as it defines the aim as to repeal the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 and to enact new law of Accountability. The aim is for establishing an Independent Accountability Commission to eradicate corruption, as has been promised by major political parties in their election manifesto of 2007.
Syed Adil Gilani, Chairman Transparency International Pakistan said that this proposed law if made an Act of Parliament, would allow corruption to flourish and the corrupt to enjoy its benefits without fear of prosecution. He said that the bill presented in the National Assembly is stated to be according to a demand agreed in the COD, but, this is not the case. The Charter of Democracy calls for accountability of NAB and other Ehtesab operators to identify and hold accountable abuse of office by NAB operators through purge and perversion of justice and violation of human rights since its establishment, and calls "to replace politically motivated NAB with an Independent Accountability Commission, whose Chairman shall be nominated by the Prime Minister in consultation with the leader of opposition and confirmed by a Joint Parliamentary Committee, with 50 percent members from treasury benches and remaining 50 percent from opposition parties in same manner as appointment of judges through transparent public hearing."
It is now widely accepted that corruption is the 'cancer' which has deprived Pakistan of rule of Law since last 60 years, and has weakened the very foundation of the Nation. It has limited economic growth, hampered investment, and reduced the effectiveness of development programmes, and diverted public resources towards private gains. Poor became poorer, breakdown of democratic and administrative institutions. This has caused militancy amongst the deprived youth, which is now threatening the very existence of the state. Syed Adil Gilani said that foreign aid did not reduce terrorism in Pakistan nor strengthened Pakistan economy, as the US aid of US $11 billion from 2001 to 2007 was misused and pocketed by corrupt rulers, and there has been manifold rise in terrorism, and frequent incidents of suicide bombing, which never happened in Pakistan before 2002.
TIP demands from the parliament to immediately form an Independent Accountability Commission, as promised by your parties to the nation to stop "the abuse of public office for private gain", and the new Commission shall also include Local Government elected members like Nazim, Councillors, Civil govt officers, Armed forces officers, judiciary, and private sector representatives.
Chairman TIP said that the proposed bill also does not meet the commitment given to the United Nations by the Government of Pakistan in August 2007 under United Nation Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which may create doubts in the donor countries/agencies about the will of the political government to fight corruption.
The proposed Accountability Commission instead of being independent body, is to be under the Ministry of law and Justice. TI Pakistan suggest that the new organisation, which is to replace NAB has to be an independent Accountability Commission, and shall function independently as required under UNCAC, and be accountable only to the Parliament or Judiciary.-PR