Bilawal wants NAB abolished
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the promulgation of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance 2019 was a tacit admission by the government that the corruption watchdog “is a farce” and should be “abolished”.
Zardari claimed in a tweet that the ordinance was “proof that it agrees with (his father, former) president (Asif Ali) Zardari”, that the “NAB and the economy cannot run together”.
“Instead of clearly biased efforts, the government should work with the opposition,” said the PPP chairperson.
He said that the government to do its “job and legislate”.
The federal cabinet on Friday gave its approval to the NAB Ordinance 2019, which was also approved by President Dr Arif Alvi the same day.
Under the ordinance, the NAB will no longer be allowed to take action against government employees.
The proposed ordinance also states that the property of government employees cannot be frozen without a court order.
If the accountability watchdog cannot complete an investigation against a suspect within three months, the accused will be entitled to bail.
In addition, the NAB will now only be able to pursue cases of Rs500mn and more.
Moreover, according to the new ordinance, the NAB’s jurisdiction over matters relating to tax, stock exchange and IPOs has been curtailed.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and building control authorities will be the sole authorities tasked to act on all such matters.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information, Firdous Ashiq Awan, defended the NAB Ordinance.
The minister, in a press conference in Multan, repeated that the government was not giving a National Reconciliation Order (NRO, which is used to forgive crimes) to anyone.
He clarified that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will not support any corrupt individuals and the party’s stance on the matter was clear.
“The Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) and the PPP demanded the review of the NAB laws. Now, that we reviewed [the laws] and presented a new system, we are still being criticised,” said Qureshi.
In a series of tweets, Awan also deplored the PML-N’s criticism of the ordinance.
“Politicking on NAB amendment ordinance by PML-N spokespersons – who slam the NAB everyday – is disappointing,” said Awan.
The special assistant was responding to PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb’s criticism of the NAB ordinance.
Aurangzeb had earlier alleged that the ordinance was Prime Minister Imran Khan’s attempt to benefit his friends.
She had also claimed that the ordinance’s main aim was to “fool” everyone.