NAB in focus as Saleem Mandviwalla, Babar Awan take Senate floor

• Mandviwalla says he will not stop speaking out against NAB
• Deputy chairman tells NAB chief to appraise Senate on 'blackmail'
• Babar Awan says PTI govt ready for talks on reforms

ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) took centre stage in the debate during today's Senate session, with Deputy Chairman Senate Saleem Mandviwalla seeking accountability of the anti graft watchdog. 

The deputy chairman questioned the federal government's reservations to hold NAB accountable. "The families of NAB officers live abroad, who will check their returns? Our fight will continue until NAB officials declare their assets," he said.

Also read: NAB 'kills people and drops their bodies at hospitals', Senate's Mandviwalla claims

Manviwalla said if the Parliament is scared into silence, there can be no hope for ordinary citizens. He claimed that he had been receiving messages threatening more inquiries if he did not stop speaking out. "

You can initiate as many inquiries, I will speak out even more. I will hold a press conference every week with other NAB affectees," he said, urging the Parliament to meet people who have been 'targeted' by the anti-graft watchdog.

Referring to NAB Chairman Javed Iqbal's statement that he was being blackmailed, the deputy chairman urged him to come before the Senate and parliamentary panel and appraise them of the who was behind the blackmail. 

"On December 29, the bureau announced it was filing a reference against me but when asked, they said it has not been filed yet. Now, at long last, they have filed a reference," he said, demanding an open trial. 

The deputy chairman emphasised that NAB was making doing business in the country difficult by going after everyone's accounts. 

"We stopped the Federal Board of Revenue from going into people's accounts, but now NAB is doing the same thing. The State Bank of Pakistan is a hostage to NAB's antics. This is a dangerous precedent." 

Read more: Warrants can be issued for NAB chairman if he does not appear before Senate, says Mandviwalla

Taking the floor, PTI leader Babar Awan underscored that legislation on accountability cannot be done by courts. "No government has tried to amend NAB laws," he regretted. "Institutions were set up but never allowed to function and become strong."

He argued that the current NAB set up was put in place by the previous government. "This is the first government that has wanted to introduce reforms," he said, adding that the PTI government had drafted a NAB Ordinance but parliamentarians have not yet decided on it. 

Awan said the current government was ready for talks on reforms. He said institutions were active under the incumbent government because they knew "no one will be given an NRO" and dismissed the notion that NAB was only going after politicians.