Confused, compromised and incompetent
Regulatory authorities in Pakistan have remained in the news for all the wrong reasons these past few weeks. The Supreme Court (SC) bench hearing the Panama Case gave a dressing down to both the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) chairman for not doing their job and complained that as a result they had to do it for them while neglecting other cases.
The NAB chairman in particular was grilled about his remarks that he was – much to the frustration of the bench – only answerable to “the regulators”. He maintained that the ‘law’ was his regulator to which the judges correctly pointed out that the law he was so confidently referring to expressly directed him to initiate an investigation. The chairman’s line of argument hence brings into question the independence of the institution he heads.
NAB has previously been criticised for doing too much pursuing minor cases in the presence of mega corruption cases that are it simply ignored. Similarly the FBR is unable to tax the wealthiest top tier and mid range tax evaders – traders dealing in cash only for example – instead resorts to mounting new indirect taxes on existing payers to meet its targets. More often than not these regulatory bodies amongst others are used as a tool for political victimisation as well.
The Lahore High Court (LHC) is correct in suspending a notification placing various regulatory bodies under ministries control stating that the federal cabinet had not taken approval from the Council of Common Interests (CCI) nor had it addressed the concerns of both the KP and Sindh provincial governments.
The separation between ministries and their respective regulators is essential for checks and balances. Unless corrupt elements that are present within regulatory bodies are not replaced with honest professional people to run them accountability will be delayed, unfair and in most cases nonexistent making it necessary for the courts to step in.
