NA passes Anti-Money Laundering Bill

Opposition lawmakers protest Shehzad Akbar’s remarks

ISLAMABAD:

The National Assembly on Monday passed the Anti-Money Laundering Bill, 2020, by a majority vote, during a session which saw widening of the rift between the treasury benches and the members of the opposition.

The bill was introduced by Prime Minister’s Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan. Initiating the debate, former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said that if the power of arrest was given to an investigative agency, the bill would become a cruel law.

Mohsin Shahnawaz Ranjha said that the amendments proposed by the government in this bill were actually proposed by the opposition. He said if the opposition supported the bill then the government accused them of demanding the NRO.

Dr Babar Awan said that no obstacle would be tolerated in the legislation meant for ensuring national security. He expressed his willingness to sit with the opposition to ensure transparency in the power of arrest of the authority concerned.

Shaza Fatima Khawaja of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said that putting the onus of proof on the accused in the anti-money laundering bill was contrary to the injunctions of Islam.

Khawaja Asif said that the security agencies had a good input on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) rules. He added that they did not want to close down the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) but wanted to balance the law.

Prime Minister’s Adviser on Accountability Shehzad Akbar said that some amendments were being made to the bill to remove the country from the FATF grey list. However, he added that issue remained to be resolved was about which agency should investigate.

He said that the opposition wanted that the NAB should not be included as the investigative agency. He added that the opposition did not want to protect anyone’s fundamental rights but to protect their own personal interests.

After the speech of Shahzad Akbar, the opposition members stood on their seats in protest but the speaker gave the floor to former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. Abbasi in his speech criticised the speaker.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that if he spoke the truth so many things would be revealed. “It is better to keep some things hidden,” he said. However, Abbasi dared him to speak the truth. The former prime minister said that this house was ridiculed by an unelected minister.

Law minister Farogh Naseem said that if the parliamentary oversight was given then the division of powers will not remain and issue. “We did not make these amendments, these were done in the PPP era,” he added. Later, the house session was adjourned for indefinite period.