Opposition in Senate hints at nixing NAB ordinance – Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Senators on both sides of the hall exchanged barbs on Wednesday, and treasure members accused opposition lawmakers of committing corruption and money laundering, and the latter claimed that a witch hunt was being carried out on behalf of responsibility.

The highlight of the day was an announcement by the minister of parliamentary affairs that the government would convene a regular session of the Senate in the next two or three days during which all recently enacted ordinances would be issued.

Former Senate President Mian Raza Rabbani said it would be more appropriate if the ordinances were presented before the house during the current requisitioned session. He said there was a margin in the rules for running government business after the business of the requested session ended. He noted that the session was requisitioned because the government had not called a session for more than two months.

Later, the upper house of parliament passed a motion seeking a discussion about the recent wave of alleged political victimization and denial of fundamental rights to opposition members, as well as the revocation of citizenship of a former member of parliament .

The minister promises that all recently enacted ordinances will be established in the upper house of parliament

By participating in the discussion, former law minister Farooq H. Naek of the PPP announced that the opposition would disapprove the recently enacted National Responsibility Ordinance (Amendment), which he described as the worst form of political victimization. He recalled that an amendment had been made in the NAB Ordinance during the days of former retired military ruler General Pervez Musharraf, according to which a person facing a corruption charge of more than 50 million rupees would take class C to the jail. He said it was done because all the political opponents of the current rulers faced invented and fabricated charges of more than Rs 50 million.

He said that according to the jail manual, the class in a jail was assigned according to the defendant's status in society and the amount he paid in taxes. He referred to article 25 of the Constitution that guaranteed equality before the law and argued that classification was allowed on the basis of reasonable facts. "If everyone should be treated equally, then my requirements should be the same as those of the ministers," he said.

Naek said it had become difficult to fill the positions of president and prime minister in Pakistan and said that former president Asif Ali Zardari and former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif, Raja Pervez Ashraf and Yousuf Raza Gilani were among the victims of the witch hunt . He believed that those who held important positions in the past should be respected.

The PPP senator said the case against Zardari and Faryal Talpur had been transferred from Karachi to Islamabad, regretting that no reference had been filed and charges had not yet been filed, but they were in jail.

Senator Mushtaq Ahmad of Jamaat-i-Islami claimed that NAB was being used for political engineering and victimization. He regretted that a former member of the Senate, who also served as provincial minister in the past, has recently been declared a foreigner. He sought an action against those responsible for it.

The PPP Senate parliamentary leader, Sherry Rehman, said the only solution [the incumbent government has] Pakistan's crisis was victimizing its political opposition.

“These unilateral accountability mechanisms are being used as a tool to silence their political opposition, which is blurring Pakistan's image abroad; Everyone asks questions about this political witch hunt in Pakistan. If you are in PTI, or are friends with PTI, you are exempt from all forms of responsibility, ”he said.

Ms. Rehman said that House of Representatives' expenses had increased by 18 percent this year and wondered why an investigation into the matter had not yet been initiated. She said the ordinances had been promulgated and the Senate sessions were delayed for fear that the house would disapprove of them. He noted that political stability was not possible by frequently enacting ordinances and giving class C in jail to political opponents.

Senator Faisal Javed of the PTI said the opposition's "political victimization card" would not work, adding that the PML-N and the PPP had joined together for their interests to save those involved in corruption and laundering of money.

He also criticized Maulana Fazlur Rehman and said that whoever led the Azadi march lost the elections in their local constituency and never filed an appeal with the Electoral Commission of Pakistan, the electoral tribunal or a court of justice. The man said [Maulana Fazl] He was still part of all governments in the past and now he was desperate because he was helpless.

Retired Lieutenant General Abdul Qayyum of the PML-N said that involving someone in a false and fabricated case amounted to "intellectual" corruption, adding that the rule of law had to be applied in all areas for Pakistan to put itself on the path of progress. He said that simply victimizing political opponents would bring a bad name to Pakistan.

Senator PML-N regretted that the judge who was going to announce the verdict in the case prepared against Rana Sanaullah was changed at the last minute through a WhatsApp message. In his opinion, people should not be put behind bars for simple accusations.

Raza Rabbani said that the deal with those who represent the people and those who represent the establishment had been different since the beginning of Pakistan. He said that Asif Ali Zardari had been imprisoned during the investigation while military ruler Pervez Musharraf who faced a treason charge had been taken to the CMH upon his return from court, and then allowed to leave the country. Rabbani also made a comparison between Shaukat Aziz and three other former prime ministers.

In describing the NAB Ordinance as a black law, he acknowledged that it was the negligence of the PML-N and PPP that they could not bring a law for general responsibility that has no room for sacred cows. He said that if the couple judged accused judges and military officers, politicians should also be tried by parliament.

Communications Minister Murad Saeed accused the PML-N and PPP leadership of committing corruption and said they had both accused each other in the past, but now they were together to serve their vested interests. He also criticized Maulana Fazl while referring to a WikiLeaks report that revealed that the JUI-F chief had assured the United States that he would serve the United States more than Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto if he had the opportunity.

The Senate will meet again on Friday (tomorrow) at 10:30 a.m.

Posted in Dawn, November 7, 2019