NAB loses right to take action against Sindh govt’s officers, institutions

KARACHI: Amid vociferous protest and sloganeering by the opposition causing a serious rumpus in the house, the Sindh Assembly on Monday passed into law the “National Accountability Ordinance (NAO)-1999 Sindh Repeal Bill-2017” in order to render ineffective the application of NAO in the province of Sindh and in the affairs of the provincial government of the Pakistan People's Party.

The treasury benches in the house defended presentation and later passage of the bill in question claiming that such an accountability law was being abolished by the house that had been enacted by the dictatorial regime of the past when the country had been in the state of emergency, being run through the Provisional Constitutional Order while deviating from the Constitution of the country.

The government side defended the abolition of NAO stating that it was a black and draconian law, which had been enacted by the then dictator to victimise his political opponents. The opposition severely castigated the provincial govt of PPP for abolishing NAO in the province stating that it would further promote corruption in the province as its rulers would be more emboldened to plunder the public exchequer.

The opposition lawmakers belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Pakistan Muslim League (Functional), PML (Nawaz), and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf protested in the house against the bill as they encircled the rostrum of the speaker and chanted slogans against the provincial government and leadership of the ruling PPP. They raised slogans “Go corruption go”, “No corruption No”, “Go Zardari go” “Aik Zardari Sindh par bhari”, “Sharm karo haya karo doob maro”, etc.

The opposition lawmakers tore copies of the bill while some of them, while doing protest in the house, went inside the area of rostrum of the speaker near the desk of secretary of the assembly and unfurled a banner inscribed with slogan “No corruption no”. Sindh Law Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar moved the bill as the house took around 70 minutes to pass it through majority vote. The house amid scenes of protest, sloganeering and rumpus also passed into law the Sindh New Captive Power Plants Subsidy Bill-2017 and Sindh Companies Profits (Workers’ Participation) (Amendment) Bill 2017. Later, the opposition after doing protest in the house staged en masse walkout from the assembly.

The Sindh law minister, while talking about aims and objectives of the bill, claimed that NAO had been introduced by the then dictator ruling the country through provisionalconstitutional order. He said that according to Article 232 of the Constitution, any ordinance introduced during the era of proclamation of emergency could not last more than six months once the state of emergency was lifted. It got lapsed automatically but the NAO had been given indemnity in the 17th Constitutional Amendment.

He said that the same 17th Constitutional Amendment had also provided indemnity to the Police Order 2002 and Local Government Ordinance-2001 but the provincial governments had already abolished both the laws as now NAO was being abolished in the province

He said that anti-corruption had been a provincial subject as already an institution had been working in the province to act against corruption. He said that there was no other precedent anywhere to have separate federal and provincial laws on the same subject.

He said that the NAB law was against the fundamental rights of citizens as trial courts pertaining to this law had no right to grant bail to the accused persons. “There has been no other law where issuing notice, lodging FIR, granting bail, and giving punishment all were the authorities of the NAB chief,” he said.

He said the NAB chairman also possessed the powers to allow plea bargain with any accused person. The remand of any accused person even in a murder case was of 14 days while in NAB cases the remand lasted for 90 days.

He said that the Sindh govt, in the next 30 days, would introduce a bill in the house to establish provincial level accountability agency of the province to do the process of accountability in a fair manner while also provide the right of fair trial to the people of the province.

Advocate General Sindh Zamir Hussain Ghumro especially briefed the lawmakers about the bill presented in the house saying that the bill would fully restore the provincial autonomy and also the authority of the provincial chief executive, cabinet, and of the assembly that had been negated by NAO. He said that NAO had been against the spirit of the Constitution.

He said that NAO had been introduced during the dictatorial regime in the country as it had been meant to provide longevity to dictatorial rule in the country while also to do victimisation of political opponents. He said that NAO was a black and draconian law belonging to a dictator.

Commenting on the bill, parliamentary party leader of the MQM in the house Syed Sardar Ahmed said that during the last 66 years history of the country several laws had been enacted but they had failed to eradicate the menace of corruption in the province. He said that situation in the province had deteriorated to such an extent that no work in public domain could be done in the province without paying bribe.

“Now you are saying that you have lost confidence in the NAB chairman but you should remember that this chairman was appointed as a result of consultation between the prime minister and leader of the opposition (in National Assembly belonging to PPP),” he said.

Sardar Ahmed said it was more advisable to improve the NAB law. “The province itself could not prosecute its own people as you could not be the judge of your own cause,” he said.

He said the Sindh government had been thinking to introduce its own anti-corruption law but after doing so Sindh would take such a step which would take it away from the Federation. “We are taking a wrong step as we would discontinue our affiliation with the Federation once we passed such a law,” he said.

“This law gives protection to the cause of eliminating corruption as this should be improved. Since 1947 we have failed to solve this problem,” he said. “We have here 25 federal laws applicable to the province. Are we going to annul all these 25 laws? The federal govt says that Urdu is our national language. Will the Sindh govt also change it in future, asked Sardar Ahmed. 

“Quaid-e-Azam had said that he didn’t recognize such a majority, which is a communal majority while later Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had also said that he didn’t accept such a majority that didn’t recognize the minority. Although, we are minority here and you are in majority but you should listen to us,” he said.

“Alcohol had lost half of the country in the past as the rest of the half is now being ruined by corruption. The poor man is dying while the rich man has all the pleasures,” he said. He said that by abolishing the NAB law, the menace of corruption would further be expanded instead of getting eliminated.   

The Speaker, Agha Siraj Khan Durrani, said that he himself had been a victim of the NAB law as being in the opposition he had been unduly imprisoned for a period of 16 months while being denied bail. He said that MQM leader Dr Farooq Sattar had been a witness to the gross injustice meted out to him during that period.

Speaking in the house after the passage of the bill and opposition walkout, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said the provincial assembly had passed the bill on a provincial subject and well according to its constitutional rights. He said the PPP’s Sindh govt was against corruption as soon it would bring a better provincial law on the subject as the law abolished by the assembly pertained to the era of dictatorial rule in the country. He said it was the right of Sindh province to abolish a law related to dictatorial regime.

He said the speaker had given ample opportunity to the opposition to speak in the house on the bill but it didn’t avail that opportunity.

The CM referred to the earlier speech in the house by parliamentary party leader of MQM Syed Sardar Ahmed. "Sardar Ahmed has asked us to amend this (NAB) law and bring forward an improved law as this is exactly what we are doing,” he said. He said it was a fact that NAB had given undue relief to known corrupt people while cases against such persons were still being pursued by the anti-corruption establishment.

He said that his provincial government would move such an anti-corruption law that would strengthen this assembly and would also be helpful in eliminating corruption. “The Supreme Court, in its recent remarks in Panama case, said that NAB died the other day and we are here now doing the same thing,” he said. “We are not going to become a judge of our own cause against what Sardar sahib said in the house,” said the CM.

“We are ready to concede here that a delay has happened in this case but we are in the right direction,” he said while again referring to the speech of Sardar Ahmed who criticised the Sindh government of PPP that despite being in power since 2008, it waited for so many years to get the NAB law repealed. He said the provincial assembly had taken a historic step in the present day.

“If they are targeting our leadership, then we will not spare their leadership,” said the CM while referring to lawmakers of the opposition MQM. “Although, the remarks given by them today didn’t become part of record of the assembly but they would not come out of our hearts,” said the CM while referring again to the comments by the opposition MPAs earlier during protest in the house.

He regretted the conduct of the opposition in the house stating that as opposition legislators should first learn how to become a parliamentarian as being a parliamentarian was a special privilege.

Later, talking to newsmen after the session of the assembly was prorogued, Leader of the Opposition Khawaja Izharul Hassan called upon the Supreme Court to take suo-motu cognizance of the passage of the bill by the provincial assembly to abolish the NAB law as passing of such laws would weaken the cause of the Federation of Pakistan. He said once such a law was passed by provincial assembly, Sindh would take steps to introduce its own currency, army, or foreign policy while doing a rebellion against the Federation of Pakistan.