Govt, opposition at daggers drawn on NAB future

ISLAMABAD: The government and opposition are at daggers drawn on the question of the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) future since the latter is asking for its total elimination while the government is keen to preserve it for its political purposes.

The two sides had agreed in the Parliament to remove NAB’s teeth so that it should cease its capacity of being a monster and bite the innocent. A hope was created in January this year in the sitting of the National Assembly to clip the wings of the body but now the government is dragging its feet back. In the backdrop of serious reservations offered by the superior judiciary in different cases, the government and opposition members of Parliament developed a consensus to place restrictions on unhindered authority of the NAB to arrest anyone without assigning any reason.

The sources in opposition told The News Tuesday that the government contrary to its commitment opted to move a bill in the National Assembly through Ijaz Ahmad Shah, Interior Minister, for further amending the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (The Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2020), as reported by the standing committee on the last day of the National Assembly Friday last that brought amendment in various sections of the act. It has enhanced the authority of the federal government agency for arresting someone on meagre financial charges.

The government contented that the bill was brought about for fulfilling the so-called Financial Action Task Force (FATF) criteria. The opposition was of the view that the government had played trick with the opposition as it had got nothing to do with the FATF but to lay hands on the voices being raised against the policies of the government, the legislation was made.

The opposition resisted the bill tooth and nail since it believed that the government intended to target the opponents in the garb of economic terrorism.

The ruling party assured the opposition in its close-door discussions that either it would abolish the law regarding NAB or would make it less injurious outfit. The opposition sources said that although the ruling party has succeeded in getting the bill adopted in the National Assembly, but the opposition will resist it in the Upper House of the Parliament.

The government has altogether changed its position and now it isn’t willing to discuss the elimination of the NAB although several influential members of government party are keen to convert the NAB into a body that should probe instead coercing the people.