Daily Times

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday ordered the National Accountability Bureau to continue with its inquiries and investigations against lawmakers and bureaucrats facing corruptions charges.

A division bench of the Sindh High Court headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali Sheikh heard identical petitions filed by Muttahidda Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) and the civil society organisations.

The court has also sought a list of the members of Sindh Assembly and the bureaucrats facing NAB inquiries. The court ordered that the final NAB inquiry report must not be submitted until disposal of the petition.

The court also directed NAB, federal government and the Sindh government to submit detailed replies on the next date of hearing.

During the course of hearing, Advocate General Sindh took the plea that after the passage of the 18th Amendment, the provincial assembly had powers to pass a bill. He said that NAB laws had been revoked following the passage of laws by the Sindh Assembly. He added that provincial government had powers to take action against government officials facing corruption charges.

Upon this, the SHC chief justice remarked that it means the federal anti-corruption court, anti-terrorism courts and anti-narcotics court should also be closed down. The court, while directing NAB, Sindh government and federal government to submit detailed replies, adjourned further hearing of the petition till August 22.

The petitioners, while naming provincial chief secretary, Sindh Assembly secretary, home and law secretaries, NAB director general and six accountability courts in the province as respondents, have pleaded the court to declare the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 Repeal Act, 2017 passed by the Sindh Assembly as null and void for being ultra vires of the constitution.

According to the petitioners, the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 Repeal Act, 2017 is an attempt by the ruling Pakistan People’s Party to ‘protect’ its corruption. They claimed that the law was against the basic scheme of the constitution.

The petitioners submitted that the ruling PPP was involved in corruption in the province and their party leaders and bureaucrats serving under them were facing a number of investigations under the NAB laws.

The petitioners further stated that the PPP legislators violated the prescribed procedures to introduce and pass the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 Repeal Bill, 2017 in the assembly, without permitting any discussion or debate by the opposition members.

They pleaded the court to annul the act and ensure that the new law does not override or eclipse the inquiries launched or filed under the NAB laws.

They also pleaded the court to restrain the respondents from transferring any inquiry, investigation, proceedings or cases under the NAB laws to any other authority under the new law.

It is to be mentioned here that Sindh Assembly on July 3 had passed the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 Sindh Repeal Bill, 2017 that repealed the applicability of the NAB laws to departments and autonomous bodies controlled by the provincial government.

It also approved the establishment of a provincial accountability agency that would replace the decades-old Anti-Corruption Establishment.

Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair had refused to sign the bill and sent it back to the provincial government with objections after it was first approved by the provincial assembly on July 3.

Later on July 27, the provincial assembly passed a new bill after the Sindh cabinet discussed the observations of the governor. However, the governor did not give his assent the second time either.

Under the new law, the Sindh government would establish accountability courts in the province which would be headed by a district and sessions judge, or a person qualified to be appointed as district and sessions judge.

Published in Daily Times, August 17^th 2017.