KARACHI: Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly Khwaja Izharul Hasan of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement said on Monday that opposition parties would launch a protest drive against the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party’s decision to repeal the applicability of a federal law in the province.

Talking to journalists after staging a walkout at the fag end of the assembly’s session, he said repealing the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999 was a ‘conspiracy’ to harm the federation and amounted to an act of betrayal by the PPP. He appealed to the Supreme Court and the Sindh High Court to take notice of the matter.

“Today they [PPP government] have separated the accountability institution, tomorrow they could talk of having their own army and foreign policy,” he said, alleging that the PPP was framing the new law to hide corruption of its leaders and ministers.

Accompanied by lawmakers of the joint opposition, Mr Hasan said the PPP had violated Articles 267, 145, 8 and 31 of the Constitution by repealing the NAO and announcing making a new law under which they would themselves be “killer and judge as well”.

He asked why only the PPP ministers, secretaries and their likeminded people were wanted by the National Accountability Bureau. He said Nawaz Sharif had been cleared by NAB but it was the PPP which had fully endorsed the formation of joint investigation team probing allegations of money laundering by the prime minister’s family.

Mr Hasan said that now it was the responsibility of Governor Mohammad Zubair not to sign the new law aimed at destroying all state institutions.

PML-F’s parliamentary party leader Nand Kumar said today the PPP government was repealing the NAB law and tomorrow it would introduce its own currency and replace the photo of Quaid-i-Azam with that of Zardari.

Khurram Sherzaman of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf rejected what he called a ‘black law’ repealing the NAO. “We will challenge the new law in court.”

Expressing regret over the attitude of the opposition, Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said his government was against corruption and would eliminate it by making a new anti-corruption authority. He said the assembly had done a historic work today for which it deserved greetings.

The chief minister appreciated the role of Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani for providing full opportunity to the opposition to express their views.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2017