Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry while responding to a news story tweeted by journalist Mansoor Ali Khan which reported that the newly passed NAB Ordinance will empower the FIA, called for the merger of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) into a single agency.
“Countries usually have only one premier investigation agency at the federal level. USA has FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), India has CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation). We need to merge FIA and NAB,” he tweeted. Chaudhry also called for talks between the opposition and the government to ensure that such an agency could be formed.
Countries usually have only one premier investigation agency at federal level USA has FBI, India has CBI we need to merge FIA and NAB but opposition n Govt must talk on how to ensure confidence of working of such agency https://t.co/oMhHpvZ3wn
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) December 28, 2019
Currently, the two bodies are separate entities. NAB is an independent body, while the FIA falls under the interior ministry’s jurisdiction but their operations overlap in some areas.
NAB, according to its website, is an independent body tasked with eliminating corruption “through a holistic approach of awareness, prevention and enforcement”.
Meanwhile, FIA, also according to its official website, is tasked with “the investigation of certain offences committed in connection with matters concerning the Federal Government”.