ON July 3, the Sindh Assembly passed the bill, stripping the National Accountability Bureau of its powers in Sindh, abolishing the National Accountability Ordinance 1999,andtransferringaHpendingcasesand future correspondences to the provincial anti-corruption courts.
The 18th amendment gives full autonomy to the provincial governments meaning they can perform legislation and make new provincial laws. The problem, however, lies in the replacement of the NAB law and whether the provincial anti-corruption courts will be a fair and credible substitute for the NAB law.
Will the provincial courts be allowed to exercise their power of investigation against the lawmakers? These important issues are still clouded with suspicions and speculations. It clearly seems that this move has been initiated to benefit the PPP lawmakers and government officials.
Amid the ever-deteriorating situation in Sindh and the weak implementation of laws, this bill will f acilitate the PPP lawmakers in Sindh to freely engage in corruption and land grabbing without any accountability.
The opposition has done well to oppose the bill and declare it as unconstitutional as it was passed hurriedly and without the consent of opposition members.
