After cabinet members, bureaucrats too have raised questions about the accountability process in the country.
According to sources privy to proceedings of the Secretaries Committee, bureaucrats have decided to take up this issue with the cabinet members. Sources say bureaucrats have sought protection against alleged harassment by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and political interference in their official matters.
Against this backdrop, senior bureaucrats of the country will hold meetings with cabinet members to sort out this issue. There are reports that bureaucrats have suggested removal of parliamentarians from the Central Selection Board. Sources say that bureaucrats want federal ministers made alternative principal accounting officers and bureaucrats kept away from politics.
Sources say that bureaucracy has sought protection for civil servants against harassment by the NAB. Also, bureaucrats have called for passage of various amendments to the NAB law involving civil servants and enforcement of these amendments. They say that accountability of civil servants should be done through a solid mechanism and the allegations against civil servants should be examined first by a committee consisting of secretaries of finance, cabinet, establishment and the concerned department. Bureaucrats have also demanded that tenure of bureaucrats should be protected and frequent transfers and posting should be discouraged.