NAB will become meaningless if opposition's proposals followed: FM Qureshi

He said that the government wants to get Pakistan off the grey list of the FATF

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Tuesday said that the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) would become meaningless if recommendations of the opposition are implemented.

Speaking on the floor of the Lower House of the Parliament, he said that draft of the opposition hinted at eliminating money laundering from the jurisdiction of the NAB law, if that happens then the anti-graft watchdog will become meaningless.

He said that the government wants to get Pakistan off the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), therefore urgent legislation on four bills is necessary, adding that FATF s three requirements are transparency, accountability and cooperation with international organizations.

Qureshi urged the opposition to delink their demand of amending the NAB law with legislation relating to fulfilling international obligations to bring Pakistan out of Financial Action Task Force s grey list.

He said the PTI government is trying hard to block Indian efforts to keep Pakistan in FATF grey list. He said it is an open policy of the Indian government to push Pakistan from grey to black list of the FATF. He said Indian intentions to push Pakistan towards the black list are aimed at getting international economic sanctions imposed on our country, which will naturally harm foreign investment and create unemployment.

The minister said that the opposition has proposed 35 amendments in the NAB law in exchange of its cooperation for legislation on issues relating to FATF. He said it is not possible for Prime Minister Imran Khan to compromise its core agenda of fighting corruption and the opposition should reconsider its demand for amending the NAB law.

FM Qureshi went on to say that the amendments proposed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan People s Party, include applicability of accountability law from 16 November 1999, squeezing tenure of the NAB chairman, graft cases involving corruption of less than one billion rupees should stay out of NAB s purview, and linking Pakistan s law of evidence for legal assistance required for international cooperation by separating it from NAB.

"Opposition also wants to allow a person to become member of the parliament even if an individual is declared convicted by the NAB and his or her appeal is pending before the concerned forum," he said.

"The PML-N and the PPP has proposed that a person, declared disqualified for holding public office on charges of corruption for 10 years, should be reduced to five years," he said and added their demands include that any case older than five years should not fall in the ambit of the NAB law. Moreover, they have also proposed deletion of six different offences like cheating at public at large.

The minister further said the opposition should review and reconsider their demands in the best interest of the country, adding that if these 35 amendments proposed by the opposition are approved it will deprive Pakistan of the gains it can achieve through the legislation to bring the country out of FATF s grey list to white list.

The foreign minister, however, made it clear that the government has no intention to extend tenure of the incumbent chairman NAB.