Thaindian News

Islamabad, Mar 15(ANI): Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB), which appears friendly to President Asif Ali Zardari and his coterie, is extraordinarily soft on the Sharif brothers and other opposition leaders, too.

The NAB has been generally criticised for covering up past and present corruption cases against the Pakistan People’s Party-led government, including those against Zardari, but sources revealed that the bureau is also not keen to proceed against the Sharifs and even other major opposition voices.

The NAB, which is not pursuing corruption cases against the Sharifs in accountability courts, has also put on hold eight investigations and two inquiries regarding alleged corruption and misuse of authority mainly involving Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif, The News quoted well-informed NAB sources, as saying.

The bureau is also in possession of what a source termed as reasonable ‘meat’ against the Chaudhrys of Gujrat and even Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) chief Fazlur Rehman, but is not proceeding against them too.

“Practically the NAB under present regime is not interested in pursuing corruption cases against any politician whether in the government or in the opposition,” the sources said.

The media needs to dig out if there is any unwritten agreement behind the government’s policy of ‘reconciliation’ and the PML-N’s ‘friendly opposition’, they added.

The setting up of an independent accountability commission is part of the Charter of Democracy signed between the PPP and the PML-N, however, a credible independent commission could not be constituted despite the lapse of three years.

The report said that the government is clearly reluctant to go for it and is inclined to continue with the tamed NAB, so that it could be used as per the personal whims and wishes of the rulers. (ANI)