NAB wasn’t formed to settle disputes among businessmen: Farogh Naseem

Be it amendments to the NAB law or some other affairs, there’s no doubt about the significance of the Ministry of Law, or to be more specific, the minister who heads it.

The importance of Farogh Naseem is also more evident from the fact that he didn’t quit the federal cabinet like his party’s convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.

SAMAA TV’s host Amber Shamsi spoke to the minister on her show Sawal about the amended NAB law Friday night.

She said eradicating corruption was the top priority of the government, but on the other hand the business community and bureaucracy seemed to be getting concessions.

She asked Naseem on what basis the law minister thought that bureaucrats and businessmen should be given this relief.

In response, the law minister explained the jurisprudential concept of the amended NAB law.

“We are not to curb the powers of NAB,” he said. “There has been no compromise on the action the government intends to take against corruption.

“But if there is abuse or things are not right somewhere, then the law is changed to set the things right,” Naseem said.

He said the anti-graft body was not formed to settle disputes among businessmen, who had nothing to do with the government or public money.

The minister said they were to put an end to the “abuse” of NAB, not its “ability to check corruption”.

He, however, didn’t specifically answer the part of the question about bureaucrats. But the minister did say that “nothing is final for ever and if something has a flaw then it is fixed.”

The anchorperson asked why the government didn’t change the conditions pertaining to the detainment of accused up to 90 days and the burden of proof.

Naseem replied that the “initial burden” would always lie on the prosecution and the “final burden” on the accused, or it can be vice versa depending upon the circumstances.

The minister was also inquired about the amendments proposed by the Pakistan Peoples Party and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

He said the two opposition parties opposed the remand period of up to 90 days.

“They say NAB chairman should not have the powers to arrest an individual, but the courts should have these powers,” Naseem said.

“Or the arrest should happen at the time of conviction, not before that.”

He said the two parties didn’t want the anti-graft body to be “applicable” to MPAs, MNAs and senators, who didn’t have any executive authority.

Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/opinion/2020/02/nab-wasnt-formed-to-settle-disputes-among-businessmen-farogh-naseem/