NAB laws only for opposition, laments Khawaja Asif

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Khawaja Asif has lamented that accountability laws allegedly only apply to the opposition while “corrupt” elements remain unscathed.

The remarks were made during a fiery speech in the National Assembly during a debate on proposed amendments to the laws governing the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Wednesday, Geo News reported.

The amendments had been tabled as part of a legislative effort to meet requirements for Pakistan’s desired exit from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list.

Asif’s reaction came day after foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said the NAB would become meaningless if recommendations of the opposition are implemented. In his address, the former foreign minister said the opposition and his party want what is better for the country, and for this purpose, they “do not want to make the FATF controversial”.

“If history is any indication, those who make unjust laws fall victim to them. We do not want these people [the government] to be targeted by such laws [in the future],” he said, adding that his party wants the laws to be amended.

“They [the government] said they are not afraid of anything [...] but they closed down the Ehtesab Commission in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. There is no dishonest person in KP, everyone is an angel over there,” the PML-N leader said.

Asif said: “We only want to end the tradition of filing fake cases against opposition leaders. PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah was illegally booked in drugs case. The government is setting new example of corruption by giving immunity to its ministers in the BRT and Malam Jabba projects.”

Asif alleged that while the opposition was being “dragged through” different accountability references, government lawmakers “have made an investment of Rs7 million using Zakat funds”. Referring to foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s earlier statement, the PML-N leader said that the amendment of accountability laws is needlessly being given a political colour. He recalled that the NA speaker had made a committee and it was agreed that all the bills will be sent to that committee.—News Desk