Cabinet decisions

One would have wished that the Cabinet had seen the wisdom of not bringing in any new legislation in place of the existing NAB Ordinance, which it rightly decided in principle to rescind. To meet the ends of accountability, however, the recourse should be had to the existing legal system; and there is no need to devise any separate law or procedure. Notwithstanding the assurance of Information Minister Sherry Rehman, "we want to differentiate between accountability and revenge," suggesting that NAB's vengeful approach would be replaced by the new law, the unhealthy possibility of victimisation of political opponents cannot be ruled out. If accountability is intended to be in conformity with the spirit of democracy, as she maintains, it would be best carried out through the ordinary courts of law.

Without naming the international company with which the government had signed an MoU for investing a huge sum of $10 billion in a low-cost housing project, Ms Rehman said that under this venture one million housing units would be constructed. Probably taking this amount into account, she claimed that the foreign direct investment had gone up by 74 percent. Knowledgeable sources hotly dispute her contention as well as other claims depicting a pretty rosy economic picture, like the increase in exports by 29.5 percent in July over the corresponding month of last year, tax collection by 40 percent and remittances from Pakistani workers abroad by 26.5 percent. Considering the authorities' dismal record in controlling the prices of goods, one really wonders whether this time round they would be able to provide any relief they promise to the people during Ramazan.