Islamabad: The president of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, Sunday returned the National Accountability (Amendment) Bill, 2023, to the Parliament urging for reconsideration on the matter as previous amendments to the accountability laws were sub judice before the Supreme Court.
Earlier this month, the bill, dubbed “part two of NRO-2” by the opposition, had sailed through the Senate without being referred to the standing committee concerned.
The National Assembly had already approved the bill, which Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar introduced in the Senate under opposition from PTI senators.
In addition to giving the NAB chairman the authority to refer graft cases involving corruption of less than Rs500 million to the appropriate agency, authority, or department, the legislation, which was proposed by the government in March, also allows the NAB chairman to close ongoing inquiries and investigations in cases where they believe there is no merit to the case.
“The president sent back the bill to Parliament under Article 75 (president’s assent to bills) of the Constitution,” the President’s Office said in a tweet on Sunday.
بل اور وزیرِ اعظم کی ایڈوائس میں اس پہلو کا حوالہ نہیں دیا گیا،صدر
ایک زیر التواء معاملے کے اثرات پر غور کئے بغیر قومی احتساب آرڈیننس 1999 میں مزید ترامیم پر دوبارہ غور کیا جانا چاہیے ، صدر
قبل ازیں، وزیرِ اعظم نے آئین کے آرٹیکل 75 کے تحت بل توثیق کیلئے صدر مملکت کو بھجوایا تھا
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) April 30, 2023
“This aspect has not been addressed in the bill and the prime minister’s advice,” he said.
The president asserted that further amendments to the accountability laws “without reviewing the effects of a pending matter should be reviewed once again”.
