New anti-corruption body must be under SHC CJ, demands PTI

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MPA Khurrum Sherzaman on Friday insisted on Sindh’s new accountability agency’s affairs to be run directly by the chief justice of the Sindh High Court.

In his statement, the PTI MPA maintained that it was important for the new provincial accountability body to be supervised by the chief justice so as to ensure that the body replacing the now defunct National Accountability Bureau (NAB) enjoys autonomy and is independent of the Sindh government.

Sherzaman censured the Sindh government for nullifying the National Accountability Ordinance, 1991 in Sindh without introducing a fresh legislation as a replacement or amending the Sindh Enquiries & Anti-Corruption Act, 1991 to save the provincial Anti-Corruption Establishment from the Sindh government’s influence.

The Sindh Enquiries & Anti-Corruption Act, 1991 empowers the Sindh government to appoint the chairman and directors of the Anti-Corruption Establishment; out of the selected directors, one is appointed as the investigative agency’s director.

After the NAO was repealed in Monday’s session of the Sindh Assembly, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah two days later claimed that the provincial government would restructure and strengthen the ACE through legislations. 

Under the amended laws, the provincial assembly including treasury and opposition parties’ members would have a say in appointing the body’s chairman. “If this is the case then the treasury benches with a clear majority will appoint their favourites every time,” Sherzaman opined.

As per the MPA’s suggestion, the directors should be appointed with the mutual consent of SHC’s chief justice. In order for the accountability process to be fair, impartial, effective and de-politicised, involvement of a political government and politicians in the operations of any new or restructured accountability body in Sindh should be minimised, the PTI lawmaker maintained.