AT last the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has submitted a selective list of alleged corrupt politicians and state employees who misused their authority for personal benefits and robbed the taxpayers’ of their money.A three-member Supreme Court bench had sought the report sometime back, taking note of the long delay in moving forward with the cases. This delay is in many ways a denial of justice. Many of the cases mentioned in the report date back to over a decade and a half, going to show the extent of the laxity shown by the authorities in pursuing them.The names included in the report comprise some of the top politicians of our times, including Prime Minister Nawaz and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, as well as former president Asif Ali Zardari. Other politicians who have flitted through our nation’s affairs figure on the list too, including former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, as well as Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, among others.Although everyone is aware that billions of rupees have been transferred abroad, and expensive properties purchased in foreign countries, the accused claim that all the cases against them are politically motivated and that they have never indulged in corruption. Do the judges of the Supreme Court think that the present NAB setup, dependent on the government-controlled investigating agencies, is capable of fulfilling its responsibility and task? Chances are bleak.Corruption and terrorism are the two most dreadful and fatal threats facing the country today. These are inter-related and they must be tackled by bold, intrepid and audacious planning and action.Like the National Action Plan for counter-terrorism, a similar action plan against corruption should be evolved. An all-party conference should be called to agree on the terms and references for an independent accountability setup with its own investigation wing. The accountability organisation so evolved should be fully independent.
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