CM vows to strengthen Anti-Corruption Establishment

NAB officials engaged in corrupt practices, claims Shah

KARACHI: After repealing the accountability law in the province, the Sindh government is going to restructure and strengthen the Anti-Corruption Establishment through legislation under which the provincial assembly would be empowered to appoint its chairperson.

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said this on Monday while talking to the media at an event at a local hotel. He was accompanied by Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and officials of the provincial government.

He said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was created by a dictator, General (retd) Pervez Musharraf and he had given it a constitutional cover by including it into the 6th Schedule so that no amendment could be made to it. "Under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, the 6th Schedule was omitted, therefore the NAB law could be amended," the CM said, adding that since taking anti-corruption measures is under the provincial domain, the Sindh government has used its constitutional right to repeal the NAB law in the province. The government will create an autonomous anti-corruption body which will serve as watch and ward on public spending in the province, the CM said.



Criticising NAB, the CM said the accountability watchdog arrested a chief engineer and a superintendent engineer of the irrigation department and put them in Sukkur Jail for three months. The judge, who granted them bail, wrote in his judgment that the irrigation officers were arrested under malafied intentions, the CM added.

"The Sukkur NAB Director-General occupied a bungalow of the irrigation department in Barrage Colony in Sukkur and later got it forcibly allotted. Through a scheme of the irrigation department, he spent public money of Rs45 million on its repair and renovation," said Murad. "This is what they are doing with Sindh," he decried.

The CM also said the harassment of government officers by NAB is one of the factors why development funds are not utilised in Sindh.



In the Article 248 of the Constitution, it has been clearly stated that no minister is answerable to any court of law for exercise of his powers, the CM asserted, adding that under the NAB law introduced by General Musharraf, federal and provincial ministers were declared as public office holders like civil servants, which was in violation of the Constitution.

"Why did people not make hue and cry when the federally imposed Local Bodies Ordinance and Police Order were repealed and re-enacted by the provincial governments?" the CM questioned. We are being defamed for using our constitutional right, he said.

The CM regretted the governor's stance, according to whom the repealing of NAB law was an attempt to separate Sindh from the federation. "I am quite surprised at his views. He has a constitutional role and should work within his constitutional limits, instead of issuing irresponsible political statements," the CM argued.



Replying to a question about the New Captive Power Plants (NCPP), the CM said that they have already been established in six districts of the province with a capacity of 120 megawatts. They are not functional because there is a dispute over tariffs between their companies and the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, he added.

When asked about cracks in newly constructed roads in Karachi after the recent rain, the CM replied that the same contractor will repair the roads for which funds will not be paid. "We are ensuring high-quality work [is being done] this is why no accumulation of rainwater was reported on Sharae Faisal because it has been given drains on its both sides," he claimed.

Commenting on the health sector, the CM said it has been given priority in the provincial budget through an allocation of Rs100.32 billion, which is 25.2% more than the previous year. "We have also given special grants to leading hospitals like Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation and others," said Murad.