ISLAMABAD, Feb 21 (APP):Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mehmood Thursday said the law of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had the blessing of leading opposition
parties, – Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League(N) – as they did not modify the law in their tenures.Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, he said PPP and PMLN brought major changes in one third of the Constitution through the 18th Amendment but did not change a comma or full stop of the 2001 NAB law of Pervez Musharraf.
He was responding to PPP leader Khursheed Shah who in a long-drawn speech expressed anger over the way Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani was arrested by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday from Islamabad. He stressed that no member of the Parliament had objection about the accountability process.Every country and institution had the process of accountability, however, now the opposition objected to an institution about which it did nothing while remaining in power for ten years, he said.
If the opposition thought that NAB had powers which should not have been given to them, then the previous governments should have done something about it, he added. He recalled that Leader of House and Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly in the past appointed chairman of NAB with consensus on their own.
He clarified that NAB neither took instructions from the Prime Minister nor it was working under the government.
The minister said NAB was taking action on its own and it was not his mandate to defend NAB or do otherwise, adding senior minister of PTI government in Punjab was also arrested which was hurtful to them.
He said Parliament should not be dragged into the matter of arrest of anybody.
Parliament and democracy could not provide shield against the process of accountability, he continued.Shafqat said it was not the job of Parliament to take sides in accountability process.
The poor people of Pakistan were the aggrieved party as wealth of the nation was plundered, he added. “We should support the process of accountability, while anybody can go to court to get relief.”
Parliament and democracy should not be made a shield as nobody was above the law, he said adding protest of the opposition was misplaced.
Shafqat said enemies of Pakistan were threatening and the House should have debated on the issue of Pulwama and India.
If the opposition had feelings for Pakistan, then it should discuss the security challenges faced by the country, he added.
The opposition members raised slogans during speech of the minister and tried to interrupt him with noisy remarks but he moved on to press his point.
PTI Fehmida Mirza then stood up to speak but by that time a number of opposition members gathered around chair of the Speaker and started to register their protest over arrest of Speaker Sindh Assembly Agha Siraj Durrani.
Speaker Asad Qaiser urged the opposition to calm down but it did not happen, so he prematurely adjourned the House.
