The Parliamentary Committee on National Accountability Law has failed to reach a consensus on the formation of National Accountability Commission over the clauses pertaining to its imposition on the provincial level, and to bring judges and generals under its ambit.
Following a meeting of the committee on Wednesday, Federal Law Minister Zahid Hamid said the committee has agreed on large portions of the draft for the formation of the proposed commission.
He said the draft of the law has been handed over to the committee members.
Talking about the areas where a disagreement prevails among the members, Hamid said that in principle federal laws are applicable where federal and provincial laws contradict each other.
He further said that the members associated with the PPP and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) will give their final nod to the proposed law after consulting with their respective provincial governments in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
"The issue of accountability of judges and generals is a sensitive matter, so the members will consult their party leaderships in this regard," he said.
All the political parties will give their opinion after consultation in the next meeting of the committee, said the minister.
It is suggested that the new laws would be implemented in the cases of last 15 years, he said and added that the committee is considering to refer the bankruptcy-related cases to the banking court under the new laws, he added.
PTI expresses reservations
Shah Mahmood Qureshi of PTI, however, expressed distrust over the government in connection with the review of accountability laws, saying that their trust in the government's intentions has shaken after the approval of the Election Act 2017.
He confirmed that the draft has been received and added that the PTI will give its opinion after reviewing the proposed laws in their party committee meeting.
"It is a very important law so we will also consult with experts on the proposed national accountability laws," he said.
Senator Farhatullah Babur of PPP had proposed to bring judges and generals under the ambit of the proposed commission.
