ISLAMABAD: Legislators in the Upper House of Parliament on Wednesday stressed the need for an effective mechanism to root out corruption from the country, while PPP Senator Farhatullah Baber was of the view that no accountability mechanism can arouse credibility unless it brings under its ambit the judges and the generals as well who have traditionally been treated as ‘sacred cows’. The Senate debated a motion under Rule 218 jointly moved by lawmakers of various parties regarding measures to combat corruption with focus on offshore companies, across the board accountability and a new accountability mechanism. Taking part in the discussion, Baber said that the Parliamentary Committee on Accountability comprising members from two houses and treasury as well as opposition benches should call a spade a spade and make anti-corruption legislation that is applied to all strata of the society. “Huge difference between assets and income is not the only yardstick for measuring corruption. Huge assets are also accumulated through apparently legal mechanism like the SROs and rules and regulations framed by some entities to benefit its serving and retired employees in extraordinary ways,” he said, and called for probing the legality of SROs that doled out huge compensations in the shape of monetary benefits or land allotments to the serving and retired employees. PTI’s Nauman Wazir questioned the role of parliament in rooting out menace of corruption and demanded some tangible actions to get rid of it. Besides politicians, accountability of institutional heads should also be held and investigation should be carried out as to whether their lifestyles were commensurate with their means, he added. Senator Taj Haider said the Senate had always tried to resolve issues through developing consensus after thorough discussions. He said there was tax evasion of Rs 1.3 trillion per year in the country which might be avoided to overcome budget deficit. He said no one – even politicians and parliamentarians – was above the law and they definite steps should be taken to curb corruption. PPP’s Sehar Kamran said one could contribute for a positive change in the society by adopting proper conduct and approach. The delay in deciding cases also leads to various social evils and such shortcomings should be addressed, she added. Jehanzeb Jamaldini of BNP-M said focus should be made on rooting out corruption which was rampant in three provinces. No one was a sacred cow and all should be made accountable without any discrimination, he said, adding those spending millions of rupees on a single political gathering should be made accountable. PPPP’s Karim Ahmed Khawaja said the democratic process should continue and accountability of all should be ensured. MQM’s Senator Col (r) Syed Tahir Hussain Mashhadi said ‘selective justice’ was equal to injustice and questioned as to whether joint investigation teams were being formed for others who were named in the Panama Papers. The corruption, he said, was like a cancer and the entire nation had tzo make decision collectively to root it out. PkMAP’s Sardar Azam Khan Musakhel said that constitution was not being followed in the country. MQM’s Mian Ateeq Shaikh said there was need to review the existing immunity system and financial management system. “Through empowering citizens and promoting transparency and access to information system, we can get rid of corruption,” he added. Published in Daily Times, August 10th 2017.