Govt amends NAB ordinance, takes away 90-day detention power

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led federal government amended the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance taking away NAB’s 90-day detention power and authority to probe decisions taken by federal and provincial cabinets among other changes.

The bill, National Accountability Ordinance second amendment 2021, was tabled by Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar on Thursday in the National Assembly (NA).

The house approved the bill with majority.

The new amendments introduced by the law minister seek revocation of a controversial provision to detain a suspect in NAB cases for 90 days on physical remand without the right to obtain bail.

Speaking in the NA, Federal Law Minister Azam Tarar claimed the NAB law was previously used to subdue politicians, adding that in the past, several civil servants were put behind the bars without any evidence.

The law minister said the civil servants bore the brunt of more amendments done later.

He said physical remand of 90 days is for the terrorists and criminals for their rehabilitation while questioning why bail could not be obtained in NAB cases when it was possible in other criminal cases.

Criticizing the extension in the NAB chairman’s tenure by the PTI government, he said that an ordinance was promulgated to give an extension to the NAB chairman as the former prime minister did not want to do legislation in the NA.

However, the minister said they have taken oath under the Constitution for performing legislation in the assembly and not bypassing it.

Tarar said they have suffered from the NAB laws in the past but did not want others to suffer from them.