ISLAMABAD - The wavering coalition partners forced the ruling Pakistan People’s Party to defer tabling of National Accountability Commission (NAC) bill for enactment before the National Assembly.
Sources in the ruling coalition informed TheNation that PPP was all set to get the NAC bill passed from the Lower House of the Parliament and for that matter they had set aside some 68 amendments proposed in the new draft of the NAB bill by the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and got it approved from the National Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Justice with majority vote.
Later, two main coalition partners - Awami National Party and Muttahida Qaumi Movement - refused to extend support to the new draft of NAC bill tabled before the National Assembly about a month back by the Federal Law Minister Farooq H Naek. The withdrawal of support to the proposed bill by ANP an MQM forced the ruling Pakistan People’s Party to defer the matter in order to evolve consensus on it, at least among the coalition partners.
When contacted, Awami National Party parliamentarians said they objected to the new draft of the NAC bill because PPP had not consulted them on it and they came to know about the proposed bill, when it was laid before the National Assembly. The ANP Senator Haji Adeel said that how they could support some bill without going through it, when approached for comment on the subject.
Sources in government further informed that though MQM has no objection to the proposed NAC bill and their MPs in NA Standing Committee on Law and Justice have also supported it but due to non-implementation of the pledges made with them regarding port city of Karachi, MQM was annoyed and had refused to extend support to the proposed bill. On the other hand main opposition Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) had made it loud and clear that they would oppose the proposed legislation when it was brought before the house. Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Ch. Nisar Ali Khan a couple of days back in a press conference had charged that ruling PPP wanted to bring a toothless accountability set-up in the country before the next general elections for obvious reasons.
PML-N leader said that they wanted a very strong and independent accountability apparatus in place to control and contain the growing tendency of corruption in society. Criticizing government for delaying the matter for well over four years he suggested that now the matter of enactment of new accountability law to the next government as general elections are at the corner.
Sources in PPP informed that government wanted early approval of NAC bill, but at the same time they wanted to do it with consensus. Otherwise the ruling alliance could get the bill approved from both the houses of the Parliament even without the support of ANP and MQM but they wanted to take all the political forces along on the matter, a senior PPP leader said on condition of anonymity.
Sources in PPP said that MQM wanted the new local bodies system in place before the next general elections but PPP was reluctant to do so keeping in view the strong opposition on the matter even from within the Sindh Chapter of the party while PML-Q, PML-F and other smaller groups in Sindh Assembly had already dissociated themselves from the government on the issue of new local bodies law passed by the Sindh Assembly.
In the views of legal and constitutional experts the proposed draft of NAC bill is full of flaws and if enacted in the given shape the same would be challenged in the court of law because it is not blanket in nature besides a number of other valid reasons.
Sources said a team of PPP leaders including Syed Khursheed Shah, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Mian Raza Rabbani and Syed Naveed Qamar were tasked by party top brass to evolve consensus on the new NAC bill so that the same could be passed during the tenure of incumbent National Assembly which has left with just three regular sessions in the last Parliamentary year one each in December, January and February.