Opposition not to move any draft for amending NAB laws

ISLAMABAD: The opposition has turned down government’s request for submitting draft based on proposals for amendments in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws in the Joint committee of the Parliament constituted by the Speaker of National Assembly.

The opposition sources told The News here Monday evening that the opposition has also taken serious exception to the government’s non-seriousness towards the committee about which difference of views exist in the rank of opposition. Some members of the opposition have proposed their leadership to stay away from the committee since it has no legal validation rather contrary to the parliamentary practices.

The opposition members of the committee were informed at 4pm on Monday an hour before the scheduled meeting of the committee that it has been called off but 50 minutes later they received yet another call that the meeting would take place as per schedule at 5pm and whatever the members of the opposition are available to attend it. On this some of the opposition members rushed to the Constitution Committee of the Parliament; rendezvous of the meeting. They were surprised to see that the government members were coming out of the committee room as they had terminated the meeting without waiting their arrival.

The sources reminded that in the absence of specific TORs of the committee which are duly approved by the two houses of the Parliament, Committee Chairman Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi called off the sitting without any discussion. He asked the members to reach the committee room to put up counter legislation/ proposals for the drafts of laws which have already been distributed among the members of the committee including one about NAB laws.

The third meeting of the committee has been scheduled for today (Tuesday) evening at 6pm, and the sources pointed out that the opposition members are divided about attending the meeting and participation in its proceedings. The opposition will take a decision today before the meeting after taking guidance from its leadership for attending it or otherwise. They have made up their mind not to put up any formal draft of amendment in NAB laws but impressed upon the government to revise the law in accordance with the guidelines which have been provided by the apex court time to time in the matter.

However, the opposition members who will attend the meeting of the committee would take part in the discussion about the legislation business. The government has also not provided parameters determined by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for introducing laws.

The sources said that the government has changed its mind to introduce such legislation and assured the opposition to make it rational. Shah Mahmood Qureshi urged the opposition on Monday to submit its position in black and white about the NAB laws but the sources said that the opposition has turned down the proposal and it wouldn’t come out with any written proposal for amendment in the sitting of the committee.

Parliamentary leader of the PPP in Senate Ms. Sherry Rehman who had an extensive meeting with her party chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday has made it clear that the draft of amendment of the government for NAB laws is faulty and not acceptable to the opposition. She said that the people of the country, civil society, lawyer’s community and intellectuals have discarded the existing laws of the NAB. She has said that the draft of the government pertaining to the NAB laws is full of contradictions and it’s against the human rights as it defies the Constitution and law of the land.