Ex-Ministers being investigated in Pak., says official

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, JULY 10. All Ministers and members of the suspended national and provisional Assemblies in Pakistan are under investigation for any acts of corruption, misuse of power and default of loans to banks and other financial institutions.

The investigations are being carried out by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), an omnibus institution with vast powers. The NAB is the brain-child of the military Government led by Gen. Pervez Musharaff and was constituted under a presidential ordinance within weeks after the ouster of Mr. Nawaz Sharif.

The disclosure about the investigations has been made by none other than its Prosecutor-General, Mr. Farooq Adam Khan, in an interview to a local news agency here. The revelations have assumed significance in the light of the contacts initiated by Gen. Musharaff with a select group of political leaders after declaring time and again that he had no faith in the present leadership.

Last week, the military Government promulgated an ordinance for acquittal of those who had defaulted on repayment of bank loans if they were prepared to pay the dues through a process of reconciliation.

There is a realisation within the military government that taking on the politicians beyond a point would be futile. And this is evident from some observations made by Mr. Khan. He said that the priority of the Government was to recover the money rather than punish those convicted on charges of corruption.

``Should we fill up the jails or should we get the money? Our priorities have changed. Previous Governments were interested in getting them convicted for political reasons. Our priorities are different. We need money,'' he said.

At the same time, he maintained that those convicted on charges of omission and commission should not be allowed to return to power. While politicians found guilty face disqualification in elections, bureaucrats would be dismissed.

Mr. Khan also complimented Gen. Musharaff on choosing ``clean politicians'' for interaction on implementation of his Government's agenda.

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Section  : International
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