ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet has constituted a committee, under the federal law minister, to amend the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law to do away with political victimization.
The federal cabinet, which met under Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, held a threadbare discussion on the amendments in the NAB law. The committee would comprise the representatives from legal, banking, bureaucracy and other sectors.
The cabinet members were of the view that the NAB’s “draconian law” had been used for political victimization and to intimidate the government officers and the business community. Due to various reasons, the bureaucracy was hesitant while making the decisions, making the country suffer in critical matters.
NAB chairman
The government has also decided to remove National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Justice (R) Javed Iqbal on technical grounds as the ordinance giving him validity to work as chairman of the anti-corruption watchdog will expire on June 2.
According to reports, the term of NAB Amendment Ordinance will expire on June 2, and after the lapse of the ordinance, the incumbent chairman will cease to hold his office.
As per the NAB Amendment Ordinance, the NAB chairman, after the expiry of his term, was allowed to perform as the head of the bureau till the appointment of his successor.
Hence, the chairman was holding the office on an interim basis. However, after the expiry of the ordinance, Javed Iqbal will no longer be in a position to continue his services.
Amendments
The government has proposed 31 amendments to change the purview of NAB’s action in corruption cases. As per proposed amendments, disqualification in corruption cases will last a maximum of five years instead of 10 years and the person disqualified will be eligible to contest elections after five years.
An accused will be allowed to hold public office till the exhaustion of all appeals against the punishment in the corruption case. As per proposed amendments, the NAB’s authority to arrest an accused will be abolished and the bureau could arrest the accused only after approval from the court.
NAB will not hold an inquiry over five-year-old transactions. In order to start an inquiry, the bureau will have to provide evidence against the accused.
The anti-corruption watchdog will not have the authority to proceed against the decisions of the prime minister, cabinet members and cabinet committees while the pending inquiries and under-trial cases will be transferred to the accountability courts.
NAB could not file a corruption case against politicians and bureaucrats without proving that they gained financial benefits. Besides, the bureau cannot take any action against the decisions of politicians and bureaucrats where there is no malafide intention.
The prosecutor general NAB will be appointed by the president after the consultation between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition. Around seven clauses of the NAB Ordinance will be abolished through proposed amendments.
The government will consult the draft of the proposed amendments with its coalition partners and the final draft will be sent to the cabinet.
