EDITORIAL: Now that former NAB chairman Aftab Sultan has made a very important point by resigning, he must go a step further and explain in detail just what kinds of “interference” and “pressure”, and from whom, prompted the extreme decision.
Indeed, NAB has never been able to escape the charge that it is nothing more than a tool at the disposal of the ruling administration of the time to intimidate and harass the opposition.
And since now that practice, for all intents and purposes, has forced out a chief whose integrity was considered beyond question by both sides of the political divide, there is a very urgent need to investigate this matter right to the end. Otherwise, it will also become politicised with each side spinning it to suit its own position.
The government, which appreciated his “impeccable integrity” at the time of his appointment, says the prime minister accepted the resignation reluctantly because the outgoing chairman cited personal reasons.
PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf), on the other hand, is firm in its belief, and doesn’t mind sharing it publicly, that he was under pressure to prepare corruption references against Imran Khan and chose to resign instead of giving in to the pressure.
Surely, it wouldn’t be too much to ask of Aftab Sultan to show the same integrity and expose the people or institutions who are allegedly bent upon subverting the country’s accountability drive.
This process is also important to determine just what use NAB has in the future. Already, its powers and scope have been so thoroughly diluted through legislation passed by the PDM (Pakistan Democratic Movement) coalition government last year that much of what is left of its jurisdiction overlaps with the FIA (Federal Investigation Authority).
This lends further credence to the claim that its only utility for the government is legal cover for its unconstitutional habit of targeting the political opposition. To his credit, Aftab Sultan was still able to remove some of the stains that his predecessor had left on the Bureau’s reputation.
Yet his departure is also no guarantee of improvement. There’s no sign that the practice that forced him to quit will now end. And it’s not at all clear if the government is considering seriously engaging PTI in discussions for the new chairman.
Considering the current political temperature and polarisation, it is feared that it will force a candidate of its choice to the position after consultation with the current leader of the opposition in the house. But such a move is sure to trigger further and more bitter confrontation between the government and the opposition at a time when a combination of political, economic and security crises is threatening to push the country right over the edge. Why go through so much trouble for a de-fanged accountability bureau that serves no bigger purpose than teaching political lessons and settling political scores?
It’s also a shame that the country’s accountability process is crying out for its own accountability. That is precisely why Aftab Sultan must name names and force the legal machinery into appropriate action. It is important not just for NAB itself, and to understand its future role, but also for the people who have lost faith in almost all state institutions. It is, after all, for people just like him, who have the integrity to stand up to unrelenting pressure, to take this process forward.
Interestingly, people from across the political spectrum, including some voices in PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz), are urging him to spill more beans. Surely, he understands the necessity and urgency of such a course of action.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023