The business community had been trying for a year to escape the National Accountability Bureau (NAB)’s jurisdiction. After extracting promises from the Prime Minister and pushing for the inclusion of clauses in the NAB ordinance to insulate the business community from NAB, it seems they are successful—the NAB chairman has confirmed that the accountability body was not pursuing the sales and income tax-related cases of the business community and had transferred all of them to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) as per law.

This step was necessary. First, it was in line with the law, as the NAB ordinance in 2019 curtailed some of the powers of NAB and stated that the amended ordinance will not be applicable to matters related to federal or provincial taxes, duties, levies or imposts. Secondly, while it may seem a loss to the anti-accountability drive that corrupt practices in the business community will not be prosecuted by NAB, it is important, in order for any objective to be achieved, that clear demarcations and lines are drawn and each institution is given its own task. NAB had too much on its plate—by prosecuting so many cases of several jurisdictions, it was allowing a lot of mix-up, consequently drawing a backlash. With a backlog of cases, the body was investigating and arresting many people, while the courts had not yet reached a conviction, which naturally drew criticisms. Restricting its jurisdiction and assigning responsibility to other investigative bodies will allow things to proceed more smoothly and in an organised manner.

However, vandals in the business community should not cheer yet. It is now the responsibility of the FBR to pick up where NAB left off. While its goal should be to crack down on illegal practices, FBR must keep all investigations fair and non-political to keep the morale of the business community.