NAO abrogated by Sindh Assembly despite protest

The Sindh government passed a law on Monday to repeal the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 despite vehement protests and incessant sloganeering by the opposition.

The House echoed with slogans ‘Go corruption go, go Zardari go’ followed by boycott of the session by opposition members but the bill passed by majority vote.

Simultaneously, after scores of actions and raids by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) ministers and bureaucrats on charges of corruption, the Sindh government summoned the session for the sole purpose of abrogating the NAO.

In the proceeding headed by Law Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar, it was declared that all inquiries and investigations pending under the repealed ordinance shall be transferred to the Sindh Anti-Corruption Establishment. All references and legal proceedings filed or pending before accountability courts will be referred to the anti-corruption court and such courts shall proceed with the reference and legal proceedings from the stage at which they were pending, without having to recall any witnesses who were earlier presented before the accountability courts, according to the minister.

Moving the motion, Lanjar said, “As per the law, corruption is a provincial subject. Corruption has nothing to do with the federal legislative list. The NAB ordinance should have been withdrawn after six months of the emergency imposed in 1999, but this never happened and the then government gave this law a constitutional cover through the 17th Amendment. The provincial government already has an independent anti-corruption administration and two parallel laws could not be imposed on the people of Sindh.”

The government side defended the abolition of NAO stating that it was a black and draconian law, which had been enacted by the then dictator to victimise his political opponents. The opposition severely opposed the provincial govt of PPP for abolishing NAO in the province stating that it would further promote corruption in the province granting the rulers more freedom to plunder the public exchequer.

After the law was passed, Durrani gave the floor to Advocate-General Zameer Ghumro who, being an ex-officio member, attended the session. Ghumro referred to Article 232 of the Constitution and said that the provincial assembly has the power to repeal any law. “The NAB ordinance was promulgated under the necessity of law, which [no longer] exists. The dictator, by imposing emergency in the country, brought in this ordinance. After the 18 Amendment, this House has the power to repeal the ordinance and [pass] any law [in its place],” he said

However, Lanjar said,"The Sindh govt, in the next 30 days, would introduce a bill in the house to establish provincial level accountability agency of the province to do the process of accountability in a fair manner while also provide the right of fair trial to the people of the province.”

The opposition lawmakers belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Pakistan Muslim League (Functional), PML (Nawaz), and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf protested in the house against the bill as they encircled the rostrum of the speaker, chanted slogans and tore copies of the bill.