Finally, after much dilly dallying, the military authorities have conceded the demand to share their inquiry report into the National Logistics Cell (NLC) scam with the National Accountability Bureau (NAB). General Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani has assured NAB that once GHQ completes its inquiry, all the three ex-generals proved guilty of swindling billions of rupees in the NLC scam will face court martial. That would be a breath of fresh air on the accountability of hitherto largely immune army personnel. However, the idea of making retired generals face a court martial may not do more than soil their respect and record. What about the money that they have swindled? Even if a military court punishes the ex-generals retrospectively, the question of the Rs 1.8 billion squandered by them and by their two civilian accomplices would still hang fire. In this perspective the role of NAB does not end with a court martial of the accused generals. It would remain the prerogative of NAB to prosecute the generals and their civilian counterparts to pay for the losses or face the consequences. This brings the story full circle. It is time for the military to allow its personnel to be held accountable by civilian courts for crimes and misdemeanours. Many would view the idea of just a court martial as an attempt once again of the military to protect its own through nominal punishment while preventing them facing the full extent of the normal laws of the land. This is especially important in the present case when the victims of the scam were pensioners of the NLC and the commercial banks from whom the generals had obtained loans to the tune of Rs 4.2 billion to invest in stocks between 2003 and 2008, which resulted in the loss of Rs 1.8 billion. For some time, the process of accountability is in need of being injected with fresh vigour. Unlike past practices, the process should cover miscreants from every sector of society, be it civilians or army personnel, the latter having eluded the process of justice so far in the name of ‘internal accountability’. With the Supreme Court tilting hard against the politicians and others, the time is ripe to open the cupboard for other skeletons as well so that justice is seen to be administered across the board. *