The federal government on Friday promulgated the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance, 2019.
The ordinance was approved by the federal cabinet through circulation, which was later signed into law by President Arif Alvi, a private TV channel reported.
Earlier, reports said that the law ministry had forwarded a summary of the NAB ordinance to Prime Minister Imran Khan so that it could be discussed at the next cabinet meeting.
After the passage of the ordinance, the NAB is no longer allowed to take action against government employees in case of departmental deficiencies. Moreover, the proposed ordinance also states that the property of government employees cannot be frozen without a court order. Furthermore, if the accountability watchdog cannot complete investigation against a suspect within three months, the accused will be entitled to bail. In addition, NAB will now only be able to proceed in corruption cases of Rs 500 million and more.
According to the amendment ordinance, NAB’s jurisdiction over matters relating to tax, stock exchange and IPOs has been curtailed. The Federal Board of Revenue, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and building control authorities will be the sole authorities tasked to act on all such matters. In addition, for land evaluation purposes, the NAB will seek guidance from the Federal Board of Revenue or the district collectors.
