Voice, Transparency and Accountability 3.2. The National Accountability Bureau The National Accountability Bureau was established by the National Accountability Ordinance of 1999. This Ordinance has since been modified somewhat in 2010. The objective of this Ordinance is as follows: ‘ To provide for the setting up of a National Accountability Bureau so as to eradicate corruption and corruption practices and to hold accountable all those persons accused of such practices and other matters. ’ Six categories of‘holder of public office’ have been identified with coverage of federal, provincial, and local elected representatives and officials. The attached departments and autonomous bodies also fall within the ambit of this Ordinance. A person shall be appointed as Chairman, NAB, who is a retired Chief Justice or Judge of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of a High Court, or a retired officer of the Armed Forces equivalent to the rank of Lieutenant General or is a retired Federal Government Officer in BPS 22. 12 types of corruption practices have been identified. Cases will be tried in the Accountability Courts and shall be disposed of within thirty days. The Chairman shall have the power at any stage of the inquiry or investigation to direct that the accused be arrested. Prior to authorization or investigation against a person, he may come forward with a plea bargain and return the assets or gains acquired during the offense. Since its inception, 457,668 complaints have been received out of which 405,212 have been disposed of. Right now, 1247 references are under trial in different courts. The Bureau has recovered Rs 363 billion directly or indirectly. Recommendations on the accountability process are as follows; Need to Investigate why the Level of Perception of Corruption has increased: Pakistan’s ranking in the Corruption Perception Index has worsened by seven places since 2017. This has happened despite the induction of a Government with strong commitment to reducing corruption in the country. Also, NAB has been visibly more active in recent years. Case for Greater Press Freedom: The 2021 World Press Freedom Index places Pakistan at the 145 th position out of 180 countries, below Nepal at 106 th , Indonesia at 113 th , Sri Lanka at 127 th , Thailand at 137 th and India at 142 nd . Fortunately, Pakistan has a higher ranking than Bangladesh and Vietnam. There is a need for PEMRA to establish a body to hear the complaints of TV stations, anchor persons and journals about threats if information is released in the media. 31