Senate to spearhead move against plea bargain

ISLAMABAD: The Senate is poised to take the lead in attempting to undo controversial facilities of plea bargain and voluntary return, available in the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), on Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani’s initiative.

Deeply perturbed over the plea bargain agreement between the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and former Balochistan Finance Secretary Mushtaq Raisani like many others, Rabbani did not keep quiet over the hair-raising transaction but firmly nudged the Upper House to move to dispense with or drastically amend section 25-A of NAO to rob the confessed corrupt of this luxury.

The matter is now before the Senate Committee on Law and Justice courtesy of Rabbani with his direction to submit its report to the Upper House on Jan 9 when the Senate resumes its new session. The chairman tasked the forum with reviewing and looking into section 25-A threadbare so that a new legislation could be introduced instead.

There is a strong likelihood that the 12-member committee will unanimously approve scrapping of this section. The Pakistan People’s Party has five senators; the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz four members; and Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Functional League and Awami National Party (ANP) one senator each in it.

Even if the committee did not come on the same bag to erase section 25-A, it is expected to pass the proposal with a majority vote with the support of the PPP, MQM and ANP, which have a total of seven senators in the body.

While sending the matter to the committee last week for meaningful and conclusive consideration, Rabbani, who enjoys an impeccable reputation, came down hard on the NAB for giving a clean chit to Raisani. The agreement had shocked the people at large because of recovery of Rs650 million in cash and other expensive valuables from his residence. However, the NAB was not at fault in working out the arrangement as section 25-A allows it.

Meanwhile, in an open letter to people Rabbani stated that the current system of accountability has failed to curb corruption, and suggested to establish a Federal Commission for Accountability (FCA) to deal with the menace.

"I am using this tool of communication, which is not very common, due to the constraints of my constitutional office. This system of accountability has fallen apart wherein any attempt to amend the existing system, in patchworks, will not work. All anti-corruption agencies, including the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), NAB and anti-corruption establishments (ACEs) have failed to yield desired results.”

He further stated that there was a strong perception that the NAB was only tightening noose around petty suspects, ignoring mega-corruption cases. Therefore, the creation of a statutory/independent body to oversee all aspects of corruption is need of the hour. The Senate chairman unveiled the roadmap for the proposed FCA, and said that with its inception, all other parallel forums of accountability should cease to exit. Forums for disciplinary actions and other related matters for persons belonging to judiciary, armed forces and bureaucracy will remain functional. However, accountability will be the exclusive domain of the FCA.

Rabbani wrote that once formed the FCA would decide matters placed before it within 30 days and said appointment of the NAB chairman would be discretionary power of this body while heads of the provincial NABs would be appointed by the NAB chief.

About composition of the FCA, he proposed that it would consist of a sitting Supreme Court judge to be nominated by the chief justice of Pakistan, a member from the armed forces - not below the rank of lieutenant general - to be named by the chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee, a Grade-22 civil servant, a police officer and a member of civil armed forces to be selected by the interior ministry.

The FCA would also include four members one each from bar associations, human rights activists, media men and professionals to be selected by the Senate chairman, National Assembly speaker and chief justice of Pakistan. The nominations will be ratified by the Senate, National Assembly and Judicial Commission. The FCA would also include four MPs, equally from both Houses, which would be named by the chairman and speaker. The MPs would elect the FCA chairman - three-year term - which would be ratified by parliament within 45 days. There would be a bar on the MPs and members of armed forces from becoming the FCA chairman.