The PTI led federal government has decided to summon a joint session of the parliament next week to once again table two Financial Action Task Force (FATF) related bills that were rejected by the Senate a day earlier.
On Tuesday, the upper house of the parliament, where the opposition enjoys majority, rejected the Anti-Money Laundering (Second Amendment) Bill and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Waqf Properties Bill that were passed by the National Assembly – the lower house – on Monday.
The opposition rejected the bills through a voice vote after Leader of the House Dr Shahzad Waseem refused to tender an apology for the remarks that he had made against the opposition leadership last week.
After rejection of the bills, which the government claims are necessary to come out of the FATF grey list, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs decided to suggest summoning a joint session. The joint session will be held after Ashura – the tenth day of lunar month of Muharram – that will fall on Sunday, August 30.
The FATF – a global body that develops policies to curb money laundering and terror financing – put Pakistan on its grey list in June last year. Pakistan has to meet its 27-point action plan to escape getting blacklisted as a non-compliant nation.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday accused the opposition of sabotaging the government’s efforts to exit the FATF grey list, claiming that they want to put Pakistan on the FAFT blacklist and are threatening to bring down the government unless offered an NRO – a secret deal.
“Let me make clear: No matter what happens, my government will not allow any NRO as it would be betrayal of the nation's trust in holding plunderers of public wealth accountable.
“[General Pervez] Musharraf gave NROs to the two political leaders [Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto] which quadrupled our debt and destroyed economy. There will be no more NROs,” the premier wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter.
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