ISLAMABAD: Coming back to an almost forgotten subject, verbal moves were seen in the National Assembly on Tuesday from both the government and opposition to try to bring a new consensus accountability law for holders of public office to replace the Musharraf-era National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, and its infamous product, National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The proposal for drafting a consensus bill came out of the blue from Water and Power and Defence Minister Khwaja Mohammad Asif after the house allowed a ruling party member, Mohammad Raza Hayat Hiraj, to introduce a private bill seeking to repeal the 1999 ordinance, abolish all existing anti-corruption establishments and enact a new accountability law.

Khawaja Asif spoke about the possibility of the government bringing an official consensus bill after taking benefit of what had been done on the subject during five years of the previous PPP-led coalition government.

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Opposition leader Khursheed Ahmed Shah, of the PPP, who called fighting corruption need of the hour, agreed that the two sides consider how to address the issues involved while the relevant standing committee of the house would discuss Mr Hiraj’s draft, the Holders of Public Exchequer (Accountability) Bill, 2015.

Both the PPP and the ruling PML-N had committed in the famous Charter of Democracy signed by their leaders in 2006 to replace the NAB, which they saw as a vehicle of vendetta used by then military president Pervez Mush­arraf, against his political opponents, and set up a mutually agreed, independent accountability commission.

The PPP government brought two bills to the National Assembly for the purpose but neither could move beyond the stage of the then standing committee on law, justice and parliamentary affairs due to differences between the two main parties mainly over who should head the proposed Accountability Commission and the scope of investigation by the new body.

The first draft, known as the Holders of Public Offices (Accountability) Bill was introduced in the house in April 2009, but was replaced in October 2012 by one called the National Accountability Commission Bill.

Although the PPP was in a position to push either of its two drafts through both houses of parliament, where it had comfortable majorities with its allies, but was held back by the failure of its quest for a consensus and high tensions that raged between the two sides later amid the then government’s legal troubles with the superior judiciary that cost the office of prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

The present government has an overwhelming majority in the 342-seat National Assembly but, in the absence of a consensus, any of its drafts can get stuck in an opposition-dominated 104-seat Senate.

Khwaja Asif said the present National Assembly had acted with consensus in several other matters and it could display the same spirit over a new accountability law.

In his remarks, Speaker Sardar Ayaz advised the treasury benches to talk to the opposition and both to be proactive in the matter.

Before the talk of the possibility of consensus in the future, the PPP and treasury benches clashed over what a call-attention notice of five PPP members called appointment of 50 new officers in the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) who they said block promotions of the existing staff.

But the Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Sheikh Aftab Ahmed, countered by saying the new officers had been hired to take state-run airline out of its present economic crisis and to “clean the mud” left by the previous government.

That happened before Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made a rare appearance in the house, raising hopes he might speak about a meeting he held earlier in the day with leaders of all parliamentary parties at his chamber in the parliament house to consult them about an accord the PML-N reached on Friday with the opposition Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI), which is boycotting the house since August, to set up a judicial commission to probe PTI’s allegations of a massive rigging of the 2013 general elections.

But the house, which has not heard the prime minister for months, appeared disappointed as he left without making a speech just before the house broke for Maghreb prayers.

Of a total of five private bills introduced in the house on what was the second private members’ day of the current session, Mr Hiraj also brought a constitution amendment bill seeking that all office holders in Pakistan disclose their assets held abroad.

Mr Ayaz Soomro also introduced a constitution amendment bill requiring a larger bench of a superior court to examine the justification of a suo motu notice taken of a matter by single judge while another of his bill sought amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance of 1999.

Since education is now a provincial subject except for Islamabad, Zahra Wadood Fatemi of the PML-N introduced a bill seeking to make civic education a compulsory subject in schools in the capital.

The house passed without a debate a resolution, tabled by four Jamaat-i-Islami members, urging the government to take steps to establish a women’s university in Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

But another resolution, tabled by a PML-N member, Khalida Mansoor, calling upon the government to take steps to control electricity pilferage, did prompt a debate, which remained inconclusive before the house was adjourned until 11am on Wednesday.

Published in Dawn March 25th , 2015

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