The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Monday constituted a six-member businessmen committee to address the reservations of business community after the government dropped its plan to form a body on businesspersons' NAB cases.

Prime Minister Imran Khan on October 2 announced to set up a committee having members of the business community to amicably address traders' concerns with the NAB. The Prime Minister announced this while having a meeting with a delegation of business leaders belonging to various industry chambers.

The government on October 14 decided to drop its plan to form a committee on business community's cases and threw the ball into NAB court to form the committee as to how it would deal with such cases and negate an impression of harassment.

According to NAB, it has constituted a six members committee by using powers under Section 33-C of National Accountability Ordinance 1999 with the consultation of executive board meeting (EBM) for improvement of economy and to address reservation and valid complaints of traders.

The members of the committee included Iftikhar Ali Malik, vice president SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Daro Khan Achakzai, president Federation of Pakistani Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Atif Bajwa, former president Bank Al-Falah, Anjum Nisar, president Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sikandar Mustafa Khan, Chairman Millat Tractors, and Jamil Yousaf, former chief of Citizen Police Liaison Committee (CPLC).

The committee will make recommendations about business community's issues to chairman NAB. Businessmen committee's recommendations would be reviewed by a three-member NAB committee comprising deputy chairman NAB, prosecutor general NAB and director general (operations) NAB.

The NAB committee would review the recommendations of business committee and submit its final recommendations to chairman NAB. The chairman will issue directives for resolution of the issues of business community.

The decision of chairman NAB would be final and the complaints regarding references already filed in the Accountability Court would not be considered. The committee of businessmen would be of consultative nature and it has nothing to do with powers conferred to the NAB.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019