The government has approved the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) budget of Rs 183 million for the first quarter of fiscal year 2009-10, which has raised doubts regarding disbanding of NAB chapter in the coming three months. The government had allocated Rs 694 million for NAB in federal budget for 2009-10, but full amount has not been released to the Bureau, sources in NAB told Business Recorder on Tuesday.
They were of the opinion that NAB was never a liability on government exchequer, as it had recovered 50 times more than the amount provided to it by the government. NAB has recovered more than Rs 230 billion looted money from people who had plundered the national exchequer, they added.
The amount was recovered from politicians, bureaucrats and people from private sector organisations who cheated general public in the name of housing societies etc, they said, adding that another determining factor is the deterrent impact that a case might have on the public to discourage corrupt practices.
They said that the system of Plea Bargain and Voluntary Return was dubbed as a traditional police style 'Muk-Muka', while it was an attempt of the corrupt people to avoid legal proceedings and to pay the looted money. People who entered plea bargain and voluntary return have also to be disqualified.
"Plea bargain and Voluntary Return are effective and innovative tools designed to assist in swift recovery of plundered money and ensure that the proceeds can be returned to the affected persons or deposited with the government treasury", NAB sources said. They said that there were 111 cases of plea bargain and Voluntary Return in 2008, in which an amount of Rs 2.352 billion was agreed for payment by the accused, but out of which Rs 1.578 billion has been recovered so far.
The present government has plan to abandon NAB. It has already reduced the powers of NAB through legislation, under which NAB will not arrest any culprit, and the NAB has been forced to downsizing, Sources said that with decline in NAB powers, corruption in the country has increased manifold and international watchdogs have expressed concern over the state of corruption in Pakistan.
The NAB had about 700 officers before 2008, and the number has now reached 250. The supporting staff has been cut to 900 from 1500, sources said, adding that all Directorates General of NAB are still working and are receiving complaints from general public.
The NAB has produced significant results in curbing the menace of corruption through enforcement over the years, but repatriation of majority of deputationists from the military and civil organisations during the year 2008 created a serious vacuum in the enforcement operations, sources added. They said that people who are calling the NAB law a draconian law, must keep in view that under present circumstances, when corruption has taken deep roots, the NAB law needs to be strengthened to arrest the menace of corruption, which has plagued the entire system of Pakistan.
There is no option of leniency towards the criminals and corrupt, when people are coming on streets due to various problems caused by corruption, they said. The NAB is being targeted for bringing the politicians in the accountability test, but most of the cases against the politicians were inherited by the NAB from Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and from Saifur Rehman-led Ehtisab Bureau of Nawaz era, they said.
They admitted that Pervez Musharraf has misused the NAB for his own political benefits and exploited the corrupt practices of the politicians. NAB had completed its task of investigation against the corrupt politicians with complete transparency, but Musharraf pardoned them to gain their political support, they added. This was no fault of the NAB as Musharraf used NAB for political victimisation, as he was at the ultimate helm of affairs, they pointed out.
They said that Chief Justice of Pakistan has asked the government to appoint judges in Accountability Courts so that the pending cases may be disposed of. In 2008, the NAB received 11,812 complaints, reaching a total of 13,689 complaints, including the backlog of 1,877. Out of these, 13,347 complaints (97.5 percent) were processed (completed, filed, referred to departments etc) and 342 complaints (2.5 percent) are currently pending, said a report of the NAB.
The report stated that 335 fresh inquiries were authorised during the year 2008, raising pendency to 976, including the backlog of 641 inquiries and a total of 495 inquiries (51 percent) were finalised (including closures and advancing to formal investigation), whereas, 481 inquiries (49 percent) remain under completion.
Discussing the NAB working the NAB report stated that if a complaint is found to have sufficient basis after verification, it is converted into an inquiry. High priority is assigned to cases that involve an amount of over Rs 100 million and where the case pertain to the interest of the pubic at large.
The process of investigation of the NAB is aimed at collection of prosecutable evidence against the accused. The NAB authorised 157 new investigations, thus reaching a total of 551 investigations, including the backlog of 394 investigations. Out of total investigations, 252 investigations (46 percent) were finalised, while the remaining 299 investigations (54 percent) are under progress.
Arrest warrants of 119 accused persons were issued during the year under review, out of which 65 were arrested while other 54 accused are still at large. Combined with the number of persons at large pertaining to previous years, a total of 376 accused remain still at large, the report stated, adding that the NAB persistently makes efforts to apprehend the absconders in collaboration with police authorities.
During the year 2008, the NAB filed 168 references in the Accountability Courts, making a total of 794 cases, including 626 cases already pending in the trial courts. The cases are contested at courts at both the original as well as appellate jurisdiction and the Prosecution Division has to keep a high standard of performance to meet the challenge.
The National Accountability Bureau achieved an overall conviction rate of 24 percent in the Accountability Courts. However, the acquittal rate of 76 percent in the Trial Courts is mainly because of implementation of National Reconciliation Ordinance, the report stated.