Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Monday that the federal government wanted to eradicate corruption from the roots through better legislation.
He said that governments keep changing, but legislation is a constant process. “We have one position on some laws, while the Opposition has another,” he said.
“A 24-member parliamentary committee has been formed to bridge the gap between us and the Opposition.”
The foreign minister said that one meeting of the parliamentary committee has been held and another will be convened soon.
“We have sent the drafts related to the FATF, national security and NAB to our friends in the Opposition,” he said. “I hope that we will look at these drafts together and discuss it,” the foreign minister observed.
Qureshi added that we [the government] also do not want to tarnish anyone’s honour in the name of corruption, or harass anyone. “However, those who have looted this country must be brought to justice,” the FM said. “Thus, our aim is to have a law that meets both these benchmarks,” he added.
The foreign minister’s statement comes in the wake of much debate over the role the country’s top anti-graft watchdog, the National Accountability Bureau, has so far played.
The Opposition has many a times criticised the corruption watchdog as well as its chairman, whereas the government has found its role to be satisfactory.
