‘Zardari did not amend NAB Ordinance covertly’

Babar Awan rejects opposition claims that the amended NAB ordinance was issued without cabinet approval.

ISLAMABAD:

Law Minister Babar Awan on Tuesday contradicted the Opposition’s allegation that President Asif Ali Zardari had “covertly” amended the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws last month.

Addressing the National Assembly, Awan defended the president’s September 16 move that was primarily aimed at transferring most of the powers of the NAB chief to the law ministry.

Babar also appeared to be rejecting, although in unclear words, a claim by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani that even he wasn’t aware of the ordinance that Zardari issued to amend the NAB laws before it was presented before the Senate last week.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan questioned on Monday the promulgation of what he termed a ‘dark decree by the president in the middle of the night’.

But Babar said that wasn’t the case and that the government did follow the rules and procedures while amending NAB rules.

According to the chronology of the events that Awan presented to the house, it was actually on the advice of Prime Minister Gilani that the president had enforced the ordinance. “The premier sent his advice on promulgating the ordinance on September 7, after receiving a summary by the law ministry on September 6,” he said.

It was then signed by the president and published in the gazette on September 16, Awan said. “The prime minister knew it,” Awan told the house.

The law minister also rejected a media report claiming that the ordinance had shifted most of the NAB chief’s powers to him. But he did admit that under the amended ordinance, the NAB chairman’s powers had been reduced considerably. “Under the new arrangements, only the government would be authorised to transfer cases from one court to another,” Awan said.

He said that issuing an ordinance was the president’s prerogative under the Constitution and no one could deny him this right.

But the argument wasn’t convincing enough for members of the opposition parties – PML-N and PML-Q – from walking out of the house in a token protest against the ordinance.

The house also unanimously approved a resolution, calling upon the government to lift the standards of sports in the country.

Later the government assured protesting parliamentarians that it would do whatever it could to bring Pakistani neuroscientist Dr Aafia Siddiqi back from an American prison, after a US court convicted her for alleged al Qaeda connections. State minister for interior Tasneem Qureshi said that they were negotiating with American authorities for Aafia’s repatriation.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6th, 2010.