ISLAMABAD: Amidst calls for enacting a new accountability law with no room for ‘sacred cows’, the Senate was informed on Wednesday that a bill, proposing the establishment of a National Accountability Commission, was close to finalisation.

Law Minister Zahid Hamid, who also heads the Parliamentary Committee on National Accountability, said a consensus had been reached on 53 of the 55 clauses of the proposed legislation. The two disputed clauses, he said, dealt with the definition of corruption, corrupt practices and public office-holders.

He said the proposed commission would have its own investigation and prosecution agencies and its chairman, deputy chairman and members could only be removed as judges of the Supreme Court were, under Article 209 of the Constitution.

Chairman allows discussion on JIT report despite law minister’s protestations

He said the law provided for a sentence of 14 years if the illegal gains were not recovered, and seven years if they were recovered.

The minister, however, regretted that at a time when a national accountability law was near finalisation, the Sindh Assembly had resolved that it would not be applicable to Sindh and passed its own law.

“When we say there should be no sacred cows, should there be a sacred province?” he said, asking the Sindh government to reconsider the bill.

He admitted the need for fresh accountability mechanism, saying that a weak bill, entitled Public Office Holders’ Accountability bill, had been tabled by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in 2009.

He said the PML-N had reservations over various clauses since it called for retrospective applicability and wanted across-the-board accountability. He said his party also had reservations over the indemnity for actions taken in good faith.

Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani said the first accountability law had been framed in 1949 and replaced from time to time, but regretted that the system had failed.

“The logical conclusion is that there should be no sacred cows and there should be a single law and a single institution for the accountability of all, be he a politician, civil servant or a member of the judiciary or armed forces”.

Taking part in the discussion, PPP’s Farhatullah Babar said the history of anti-corruption laws in Pakistan was one of selectivity, sacred cows and political witch-hunts.

He said that institutional corruption and abrogation of the Constitution had threatened the very foundations of democracy and statehood no less than financial corruption.

He blamed institutional corruption and a lack of reverence for the Constitution for undermining public trust and belief in state institutions, saying that “all-pervasive institutional corruption must be clearly understood and addressed. If all irregularities in land usage in past decades are regularised through an executive order during the final days of a caretaker prime minister without parliamentary discussion and accountability, it is a case of institutional corruption”.

He also called for implementation of the Charter of Democracy, which states that all military and judicial officers will be required to file annual asset and income declarations, much like parliamentarians, to make them accountable to public.

The CoD also required that military lands and cantonments should be controlled by the Ministry of Defence and that a commission should be set up to review and examine the legitimacy of all land allotment rules, regulations and policies.

While discussion on the JIT report was also on the agenda, Law Minister Zahid Hamid objected to this, saying that it would prejudice the outcome of the case before the apex court.

But rejecting his plea, the Senate chairman referred to what was happening outside the Supreme Court on a daily basis, where the counsel not only commented on proceedings but also cited the words of the judges.

He said that when a detailed analysis of the documents presented as evidence was being carried out on TV talk shows, “it would be absurd on my part if I do not allow discussion on an issue being discussed by the public”.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2017