The NAB’s bid to modify employee status was turned down.
The government claims that the anti-corruption watchdog would lose its autonomy if its employees were considered to be civil officials.
ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) requested that the government declare its employees as civil servants in its summary, but the government rejected the request, claiming that by doing so the anti-corruption watchdog would cease to function as an independent institution and that its chairman would no longer be in charge.
The terms and conditions of service, 2002, were cited in a letter from the Ministry of Law, which also noted that the NAB was established by an Act of Parliament in 1999.
It was mentioned that the independence of the national graft-buster was necessary for the goals for which it was established.
According to the letter, “Their personnel are benefiting from far higher opportunities and privileges than civil servants of various occupational groupings.”
It said, “Furthermore, no convincing arguments have been made by the NAB that satisfy the necessity to declare them, being only one institution, as one of the Occupational Group of Civil Service.
The law ministry argued that if NAB were to be recognised as an occupational group of the civil service, it would cease to function as an independent institution and would be subordinate to a ministry or division.
Further, it was said that if the request was followed, the terms and conditions, salary, allowances, and privileges of the anti-corruption watchdog staff would be the same as those permitted to civil servants of other occupational categories.
According to the law ministry, in such a scenario, the NAB chairman would no longer serve as both the institution’s leader and senior accounting officer.
