Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The PML-N government on Wednesday succeeded in electing the 20-member parliamentary committee chairman formed to amend NAB Ordinance 1999.

However, the opposition parties protested against the government and urged it to withdraw the NAB Amendment Ordinance 2017, but the government refused.

The first meeting of the parliamentary committee on NAB laws was held at parliament house. State Minister for Information Technology Anusha Rehman suggested the name of Zahid Hamid for the chairman’s office. Hamid was elected the chairman unopposed. After assuming the office, he sought cooperation of all parliamentary bodies to amend the ordinance.

Opposition lawmakers Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Naveed Qamar, Sahibzada Tariqullah and Aftab Sherpao protested and said the government should withdraw the amendment. They said they would give suggestions to amend the NAB laws in the next meetings. NAB should be an independent body and it should work for eradication of corruption in the country and not be used for political victimization, they added.

Senator Farhatullah Babar talked about the accountability of judiciary and armed forces as well. He said that if these institutions were not held accountable then the accountability of politicians and bureaucracy would be considered as victimisation.

To this Hamid said the government would not withdraw the amended ordinance as it was promulgated after a consensus.

After a detailed deliberation, the committee approved its rules and terms of reference and decided to keep the meetings closed for media while the opposition lawmakers demanded to open it for media.