Malik M Aslam Awan
INDISCRIMINATE accountability is a compulsory condition of a viable society and the state is incumbent upon to implement fair, unbiased accountability of all corrupt elements of state functionaries, politicians and others who have illegally, mercilessly plundered national exchequer or caused loss to the kitty in any capacity. It is alarming to observe that politicians clamour about being exclusively targeted by NAB.
Prima facie it seems that the politicians are somewhat right in their expression of biased accountability. It is shocking to note that one cannot rightly claim that some certain offices or their functionaries have not polluted their hands in the dirty pond of corruption. We cannot give even single example of public office holders, who have not usurped public money. Public fleeces stick so hardly to the flesh of masses that sapping their blood they have made the society and state so feeble that both have no strength to move ahead to keep pace with developing nations of the world. FATF has laid down many conditions on Pakistan and put it in grey list, having fears slipping into the black list.
Money laundering is the most potential factor creating embarrassment to Pakistan. It is a crystal clear fact that since the eighties of past century the trend of squandering the national resources and accumulate public wealth abroad, sending the progeny at the pretext of study abroad and win foreign nationality by investing mammoth wealth in business empires has become the fashion amongst those who anyway happened to be the custodian of national wealth. National wealth has been embezzled at large scale level, without any fear, because one who trespassed the law to devour public kitty have a chain of influential public servants at their back who patronize him in case of any casualty or if otherwise secrets leak out to pinpoint the heinous offence of the commission of crime – public money scam.
Politicians often blame that they are targeted on the pretext of accountability and after long queries, inquiries, investigations nothing emanates from their possession. Inquiries prove wastage of time at the cost of national wealth. Millions are spent but with no result. On the contrary NAB claims every year, in its annual reports, that billions have been recovered from the possession of national criminals, who put the state resources at jeopardy to replenish their thirst of wealth. It is noteworthy that NAB has contributed to national exchequer in billions but the embezzlement of national resources has not come to an end. Hardly a day passes away that we don’t hear news of embezzlement of billions in state departments. According to a very careful survey more than 50 percent of national resources are swallowed by the public office holders, who happen to be the custodians of national wealth.
Being impartial observer and historian one owes the responsibility to expatiate facts, not biased surveys of paid self-styled observers, who are habitual to forward false fabricated reports. Such institutions and persons are paid for their unconditional loyalty to a specific party, their function is to release quarterly, yearly survey reports to convince the people with sophist figures. Coming to synopsis the accountability process of NAB is not so satisfactory as it ought to be, lacking sobriety and accuracy. Chairman NAB is required to make the accuracy of accountability trustworthy and all-embracing without exception of a single person, how mightiest he might be, otherwise its conspicuousness will be at stark jeopardy and the victims will have the opportunity to raise fingers about its transparency.
—The writer is a freelance columnist and independent analyst based in Lahore.
