The government has once again failed to push through Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Bill from Senate Standing Committee on Finance ahead of crucial talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on ninth review of Extended Fund Facility despite full support of committee chairman Senator Saleem H Mandviwala. Mandivwala has decided to take up the law on the request of Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood when the bill was not even on the agenda of the day on Wednesday and the move was protested by the committee members.
A member of the committee quipped after the meeting that 'it was unprecedented on part of Mandiviwala to take up such an important issue without being on the agenda and prior information to the committee members". "We would've also taken other members in the loop if this had been on the agenda," said another member.
Senators Kamail Ali Agha and Fateh Muhammad Hassni were visibly upset and questioned why the committee chairman decided to take up such a controversial legislation when all the members of the committee were not present. At one point, secretary finance requested Moshin Leghari, a meber of the committee, not to leave the meeting, in a bid to clear the proposed legislation from the committee through a vote, as the chairman had already given them out of turn favour by taking up the matter.
However, the protest by Senator Leghari left both secretary finance Dr Waqar Masood and Mandiviwala to defer the proposed law. Mandiviwala tried his level best to please the government by clearing the bill but all his hopes to clear the bill in haste were shattered after the committee members strongly resisted the move. "I'm just could not understand why the government is in a hurry to push through the [proposed] legislation as even in a country like the US, discussion on a bill continues for years" regretted Leghari.
"And even if the bill was putting to vote it would have been ended in tie," he added. Thus, Mandviwala eventually agreed to place the proposed bill before the full meeting of the committee, as suggested by Senators Kamail Ali Agha and Fateh Muhammad Hassni, who strongly protested for taking up the bill as it was not included in the agenda of the meeting. "We are completely against it and will never support. Bring it before the full committee to get it passed with majority votes," the senators' duo said voicing their concern that inclusion of fiscal offenses in the proposed bill to amend the AML 2010 would be used for political blackmailing.
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