Zardari approves NAB amendments

ISLAMABAD: In a major decision, Pakistan President Asif Zardari has exempted the accountability of politicians and parliamentarians by the country’s controversial top anti-graft body, the National Accountability Bureau set up by former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf to hound politicians after he seized power in 1999. Official sources confirmed Sunday Zardari has approved amendments in the NAB Ordinance aimed at exempting parliamentarians and politicians from accountability and giving the right of holding them accountable to parliament.

Approval for bringing amendments in the NAB law was given during a meeting at the presidency in which Law Minister Farooq Naek briefed Zardari on the NAB law and the amendments proposed therein. The president, however, urged a debate by the cabinet on the issue before incorporating the proposed amendments.

Sources said only corruption references of government officials will now be sent to NAB while parliament will hold the accountability of parliamentarians and politicians by constituting a special committee.

It was also decided that NAB Chairman Naveed Ahsan will be replaced and a new interim chairman will be named by Prime Minister Yousaf Gillani soon. It has been proposed that the NAB chairman be appointed with the consent of the opposition leader.

The sources said that according to the proposed amendments, all accountability courts will be abolished and cases will be tried in regular courts that work under the high courts.

The sources said it was also proposed that the NAB authority to send corruption references directly to the courts should be taken back and handed over instead to the Ministry of Law.

The sources said all those laws described as discriminatory by political parties since the promulgation of the NAB Ordinance will be removed under the new amendments proposed by the law minister.