ISLAMABAD , May 15, 2023:A joint session of the parliament passed on Monday the National Accountability (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to further amend the National Accountability Ordinance,1999.
Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar moved the bill that had earlier been passed by the National Assembly and the Senate and returned by President Dr Arif Alvi.
Speaking during a joint session of parliament, Mr Tarar said that putting politicians behind bars will not end corruption.” He took a swipe at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), saying, “For the past four years, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has been used against political opponents. One party [PTI] has caused an uproar with the NAB amendments,” Mr Tarar said.
Mr Tarar added, “The Supreme Court has also said that NAB is being used for political engineering. In the past, the courts have declared NAB a black law.
He further said that last year the parliament had approved the NAB amendments, adding that unfortunately the NAB was used for political purposes.
Underscoring the importance of the parliament, Mr Tarar said, “It is up to the parliament to legislate. Parliament does not interfere in matters related to the judiciary, but the judiciary intervenes,” he said, adding that the NAB amendments were made for a fair trial, but the president had returned the NAB law bill to parliament.
“The president said that the court is hearing the case in this regard and there is no need for legislation. No institution has the power to prevent Parliament from enacting legislation,” maintained Mr Tarar.
On the other hand, the joint sitting of the parliament also passed scores of other bills including the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 2010 [The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) Bill, 2021]. The bill was moved by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MNA Kishwar Zehra.