Staff Reporter Peshawar
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has prepared initial draft of a new law for the restructuring the Anti-Corruption Establishment to make it a fully independent, autonomous and specialized body with professional expertise. The draft law proposes new nomenclature of Anti-Corruption Agency for the body having specialized wings of prosecution, finance and audit, information and data, investigation, internal audit and public complaints.
A meeting to review progress on the new legislation was held here the other day with Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan in the chair. The meeting was given a detailed briefing on various aspects of the new draft law. While agreeing in principle to the draft, the Chief Minister directed the concerned authorities to finalize the draft in consultation with legal experts, former judges, journalists, political leaders and relevant experts by conducting consultative seminars and workshops to make it more comprehensive and in all respects.
Underlining the need to make the body fully independent and neutral, he further directed the authorities to ensure that no permanent government employee is part of the body and in order to make it free of government. He termed the complete eradication of corruption in it all its forms and manifestations in government departments as top priority of his government, the Chief Minister said that the establishment of a completely independent and impartial body free from government influence was essential for the purpose.
The Chief Minister also directed the concerned authorities to review the relevant laws of other provinces and the federal government as well before finalizing the new draft law and to finalize it in the minimum possible time period so that the same could be tabled in the provincial cabinet and consequently in the provincial assembly for final approval without any delay.
