KARACHI: While the Sindh government has repealed the applicability of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, better known as NAB Ordinance, in the province through a new law, its chief law officer has told the provincial government that the NAO has completely lapsed after the 18th Amendment, it emerged on Saturday.

Sources said that the provincial government through its law and parliamentary affairs secretary had sought from Advocate General barrister Zamir Hussain Ghumro the opinion on legal effect of the federal part of the NAB Ordinance, 1999, to design legal strategy to defend repealing of the law at all legal forums.

Giving his detailed opinion, the AG stated that there were striking similarity between the legal status of the lapsed National Reconciliation Ordinance, 2007 and the NAO, 1999 as both the ordinances were enacted in pursuance of proclamation of emergency on Nov 3, 2007 and Oct 14, 1999 respectively under the Provisional Constitution Order No. 1 of 1999.

He said that the Supreme Court in the Sindh High Court Bar Association case in 1999 and the parliament under 18th Amendment in 2010 declared the proclamations of emergency on Nov 3 and Oct 14 illegal and without legal effect respectively.

The provincial government’s chief law officer said that the apex court in the NRO case decided in 2009 that since emergency of Nov 3 was declared illegal in the SHCBA case, so the 37 ordinances enacted by the federation and provinces, including the NRO, were shorn of permanency and they might be laid before parliament and provincial assemblies.

According to the apex court’s judgement, the NRO was laid before the parliament; it was not passed and therefore, lapsed under operation of law.

The AG referred to the apex court’s judgement in the NRO case and said that it held that the parliament in future could not affirm or validate laws enacted during unlawful emergency or martial law as the usurpers had no power to enact such laws.

He recalled that the parliament repealed the 17th Amendment through 18th Amen­dment and declared the proclamation of emergency of Oct 14, 1999 and PCO NO 1. of 1999 illegal, but the laws enacted under it were continued in violation of the SC judgement.

The AG said: “In my considered opinion, the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 has lapsed after the 18th Amendment and all proceedings under it are coram non judice and without force of law.”

The new anti-corruption law that repeals the applicability of the NAO in Sindh has been challenged in the Sindh High Court by three opposition parties — the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement — and two civil rights campaigners.

According to the petitioners, the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 Sindh Repeal Act, 2017 is an attempt by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the ruling party in the province, to protect its ‘corruption’. They claimed that the law was against the basic scheme of the Constitution.

The SHC on Wednesday directed the National Accountability Bureau to proceed till further order with the inquiries and investigations pending before it.

It had also directed the accountability courts to continue proceeding with the NAB references pending disposal before them.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2017