It’s a constitutional paradox, used over a plethora of events and circumstances.The phrase simply begs the question where accountability would stop? Socrates used it in relation to a guardian class of society, in modern terms it may mean the police. An institution to restrain crime, but who holds them accountable if they engage in criminal acts? Would the creation of another institution help? What if they themselves then engage in acts deserving of punishment? Where would the institutional hierarchy stop? Is there an end to the chain of institutions piling up?
The paradox brilliantly captures our situation. Under the law, the speaker may issue production orders to bring members of legislative assemblies into sessions so that they may not be restrained by the executive branch to speak their minds. Then NAB humiliates the speaker of the Sindh Assembly, arrests him from a hotel and raids his house and harass his family members for an uncertain amount of time. It’s not about the office he holds, even a commoner cannot be treated in such a way. It’s a violation of due process and therefore unconstitutional.
It’s pathetic that once one raises his voice against such an unconstitutional move, he is decried either as a supporter of the corrupt elite or termed against the notion of accountability. The government is always there to provide legal and moral support but criticising NAB, or ironically holding them accountable, is politically taboo.
Although NAB has been provided full support by relevant authorities, it has failed to deliver. Ahad Cheema been under custody for over a year yet there are no signs of conviction. NAB has the power to keep the accused detained for years at end.Where else in the world have we seen such acts? The accused list is long which includes Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif, Saad Rafiq, Sharjeel Memon, Dr.Asim Hussain, Kamran Michael, Agha Siraj Durrani, Babar Awan, Mehmood Khan, Fawad Hassan Fawad etc. It generates headlines and a message, that the powerful can be held accountable, is rendered unremittingly. It seems that the list of untouchables in this country; institutions accountable only to themselves has increased.
NAB clearly is unrestrained since it’s fast on press releases but slow on investigations
NAB clearly is unrestrained since it’s fast on press releases but slow on investigations. DG NAB Lahore made media appearances and it implied as if the institution had become an interested party against opposition figures.
The question, however, is who’ll NAB the NAB? Recently, Pakistan was imposed with a penalty of $21 million in the infamous Broadsheet LLC case.
The other party to the dispute Broadsheet was hired at NAB’s initiative during early 2000s in a bid to trace undeclared and dirty assets stashed by Pakistanis abroad. In 2003, this agreement with Broadsheet was rescinded and in 2005 the entire entity was liquidated. The man behind the entity, Jerry James, then negotiated in 2008 after launching a company with the same name for $5 million. Of course, this new company was a mere façade. A great fraud had been played on Pakistan. The actual Broadsheet then sued Pakistan before the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). It is here that Pakistan was ordered to pay $21 million owing to NAB’s incompetence.
What needs to be ascertained now is who engaged a firm for a heavy price that clearly could not deliver on its promise? Which officials were complacent in paying $5million to a single individual? Was there no due diligence or legal advice taken on board before proceeding with the transaction.
Clearly, this is a case of misuse of authority by NAB, whose officers can be proceeded against under the NAB ordinance itself.But, the cumbersome question is whether NAB can hold itself accountable for a transaction that is fraudulent prima facie. Who would be held responsible for embarrassing the country?
Lord Acton once said,’Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely’. As of now, there are no checks and balances on NAB, not even on itself.
The writer is a barrister, who has an interest in Pakistani current affairs, economy, constitutional developments, foreign policy and international law
Published in Daily Times, March 12th 2019.