ISLAMABAD: Opposition lawmakers in Senate on Friday accused the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of committing ‘egregious human rights violations’ and victimisation of political opponents of the ruling party as the Upper House of the Parliament finally took up the motion against the national accountability watchdog.

Speaking on the motion at the Senate session presided over by Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, Leader of the Opposition in Senate Raja Zafar-ul-Haq accused NAB of carrying out a ‘witch hunt’ against opposition leaders. “Look at the way Khawaja Asif was arrested. He was in a meeting when he got the message ‘some people are calling you’—and then he was arrested,” he said.

“We don’t mean to say that those who are guilty of corruption should be spared. But the way media trial of any accused starts even before their cases are heard by accountability courts is absolutely shameful and condemnable,” he added.

“This practice is not only resented by public but Supreme Court has also termed it a one-sided action,”

Responding to Haq, Leader of the House in Senate Dr Shahzad Waseem said the chairman NAB was not appointed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government. “This is the same NAB that started its actions under the command of Saif-ur-Rehman. The Supreme Court had used the words like Sicilian Mafia for someone. NAB is an independent entity that has nothing to do with government—everyone has to follow the law. Cribbing and crying foul won’t help,” he said.

General Secretary Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F) Abdul Ghafoor Haideri said his party chief Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman would not appear before NAB “come what may.” He said: “We would be torn to bits but we would not surrender—and not appear before NAB. The NAB is committing grave human rights violations in liaison with rulers.”

Haideri said the government was maligning the military by dragging it into politics. “Why do you keep saying this ‘the military is standing by us’? You cannot run this government by hiding behind the army chief,” he said.

Federal Communications Minister Murad Saeed accused the opposition of using Parliament, NAB, SECP (Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan) and FBR (Federal Board of Revenue) for its vested interests.

Worldwide, media exposes corruption and any other kind of financial foul play, he said. “But here, opposition is threatening journalists. This kind of attitude and highly dangerous and condemnable,” he said.

Requisitioned by 34 opposition senators, the ongoing 305th session is taking up a seven-point agenda. The agenda items include discussions on: “egregious human rights violations and media trials committed by NAB in its victimization of targeted opposition workers—government’s unprecedented crackdown on opposition workers—alarming propensity of the federal government to usurp and subvert parliamentary and provincial rights guaranteed in the Constitution by attempting to rule the country by ordinances— unprecedented gas and energy crisis in the entire country— unabated price increases— crippling inflation and the rising graph of food insecurity—pre-poll rigging and election tampering at all stages by government in the recent Gilgit-Baltistan elections— precipitous economic situation and growing volume of loans taken by the PTI government.”

It merits mentioning here that Deputy Chairman Senate Saleem Mandviwalla has moved a privilege motion against Chairman NAB former Justice Javed Iqbal, Director General NAB Rawalpindi Irfan Mangi and Investigation Officer Mudassar Naqvi who probed the Mandviwalla case in NAB.

A senator, on the condition of anonymity, told Business Recorder that the privilege motion against NAB can be debated in Senate and it can be referred to the relevant standing committee but there is not much the House can do about NAB without a parliamentary legislation.

“Senate can pass a resolution against chairman NAB suggesting his removal from office or initiating action against him and such a resolution can also be passed by the relevant standing committee but these resolutions are not binding on government or anyone,” the senator said.

Unlike president of Pakistan who can be impeached by the Parliament by a two-third majority, chairman NAB cannot be removed from office through impeachment by Parliament. Section 6 (b) (i) of NAB Ordinance 1999 clearly provides that chairman NAB “shall not be removed except on the grounds of removal of a judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan."

The House is scheduled to meet again on Monday.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021