The easiest scapegoat for the Pakistani masses and the authorities alike is the western agenda behind everything that is wrong in the country. To prove dedication to the country, somehow fighting the foreign agenda away trumps solving domestic problems. The authority recently plagued by this ideology is the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in their effort to probe the NGOs and INGOs in the country. There is no denying that misuse of funds can take place in IGNOs and NGOs, and has been taking place as well, but does the issue require the utmost priority at this time? That is still in question.
The NAB as a body needs to be keeping a check firstly on the governmental bodies and institutions. This is so because these institutions function on the taxpayers money. If that money, being allotted to the government, is being misused for personal benefits and not being spent where it is needs to be - then that should be prioritised by NAB and an agenda should be devised to hold those institutions accountable.
We have witnessed negligence of NAB on several accounts. The news of NAB Director Generals occupying lucrative positions and Establishment Secretary Tahir Shahbaz presenting a list of over 100 senior officials of NAB, who lacked the required experience in dealing with white collar crimes and their investigation is not distant in memories. A good decision at this point would be to first address issues of their own house, overlook political affiliations and deliver what is actually expected rather than beating around the bush and taking up issues for face saving.
This episode highlights the trend of institutions getting political by the day and creating an image for themselves rather than focusing on actual issues plaguing the system. It is about time this trend changes and everyone is held accountable as per law.