ISLAMABAD: PPPP Senator Farooq Hamid Naek on Monday introduced alegislative proposal in the Senate, seeking amendments in the NationalAccountability Ordinance, (NAO) 1999.
The bill – the National Accountability (Amendment) Bill, 2019 – soughtamendment in section 5 to ensure that only offences of Rs 500 million ormore are to be prosecuted by NABlinkwhereasamendments in sections 9 and 14 seek to ensure that only persons inpossession of wealth, acquired through corrupt, dishonest or illegal means,are prosecuted.
This bill also demanded to insert new sections 33F and 33G in NationalAccountability Ordinance 1999.
The newly proposed section 33F is about restriction on issuance of publicstatement and says that no official of NAB, in any capacity, shall make anystatement in public or to the media regarding persons involved in anyinquiry or investigation conducted by NAB until a reference has been filedagainst such persons.
Another proposed section 33G defines punishment for making publicstatements.
It states that whoever contravenes the provisions of section 33F shall bepunished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year butshall not be less than one month in any case and with a fine of Rs100,000.According to the Statement of Objects and Reasons, check and balances havebeen created by ensuring that no fishing or roving inquiry is possible andmaterial can only be collected which pertains to the investigation orinquiry in question.
The bill proposes to empower NAB courts inter alia by giving them power togrant bail by deletion of section 9 (b) and further giving them the powerto issue commons and warrants as well as take bonds for appearance.
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It is suggested that the presumption of innocence of an accused to berestored by deletion of section 14. The legislative proposal says thatchecks and balances have been introduced upon the chairman NAB’s power inconsonance with due process requirements through appropriate amendments insection 18 and section 24.
The concept of voluntary return and plea bargain is being brought in linewith modern jurisprudence of the Superior Courts through amendments insection 25.
An amendment in section 26 is proposed to ensure that approves in NAB casesare given the same treatment as under the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898 andthat the accused is given an opportunity to cross examine the approver atthe time his statement is being recorded.
Through the insertion of a new section viz. Section 33, it has beenproposed to protect the dignity of person through a restriction on NABofficials from issuing statements publicly prior to filing of a referenceand a contravention of the section 33F entails penal consequences,encapsulated in section 33G.