Apart from raising questions on the procedure adopted by President Asif Ali Zardari in nominating Admiral (r) Fasih Bokhari for the post of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman, National Assembly Opposition Leader Nisar Ali Khan has also expressed doubts about the government’s intention to pass new accountability law in a letter to the president.
A source in the government told Pakistan Today that the parliamentary body on law and justice was likely to approve the pending draft bill in its two-day meeting scheduled for October 26-27. On Friday, the office of the opposition leader released his letter sent to President Zardari regarding consultation on the appointment of the NAB chairman, in which at one point Nisar says that “it appears that the government has no intention to pass the new accountability law”.
Nisar also points out in the letter the qualification for the post of NAB chairman under the proposed ‘Holders of Public Office (Accountability) Bill’, saying that by nominating Bokhari the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) had backtracked from its stance. “One of the 4 major points of dispute between the government and the opposition regarding the Holders of Public Office (Accountability) Bill which is pending before the National Assembly Standing Committee for Law and Justice for nearly 2 1/2 years relates to the qualification for appointment of the Chairman of the proposed new National Accountability Commission.
The Government Bill provides that the Chairman should be a person who is, or has been, a Judge of the Supreme Court or is qualified to be appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court. The PML (N)’s view is that the Chairman should be a serving judge of the Supreme Court. The fact that the government has proposed the appointment of a person (who is not a judge nor qualified to be a judge) is contradictory to its own position. It appears that the government has no intention to pass the new accountability law,” Nisar states in the letter.
SA Iqbal Qadri of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Abdul Ghafoor Chaudhry of the PPP, who are also members of the parliamentary body on law, said in response to Nisar’s assertions that the qualifications in questions could not be applied to NAB. Qadri told Pakistan Today that the qualification for chairman of the accountability watchdog as proposed in draft bill could not be implemented on the existing NAB.
“These qualifications will be applicable on the future chairmen of proposed accountability commission if the draft bill is passed by parliament. The government has no problem passing the new accountability bill. The delay in the passage of the proposed piece of legislation is only because of opposition from the PML-N. All other parliamentary parties cleared the draft bill long ago,” he said. Chaudhry said Nisar’s objections were just for the sake of opposition.
“They (the PML-N) opposed when we appointed a retired judge (Justice (r) Deedar Hussain Shah) and now again they are opposing this man of integrity,” he said, adding that the delay in passage of new accountability law was because of the PML-N and not by the government. “The NA body is meeting on October 26-27 to approve the draft bill on national accountability commission,” he confirmed.
Without expressing an opinion on the suitability, or lack thereof, of the proposed nominee (Bokhari), Nisar writes in the letter: “I have repeatedly suggested (letters dated September 23 and 24, 2010 to the Prime Minister and letter dated March 21, 2011 by my Secretary to your Secretary refer) that a panel of possible candidates for Chairman should be drawn up mutually in the first instance which can then be discussed through a participatory consultative process to facilitate development of a consensus amongst the consultees. Such consensus is a necessity in the light of the judgment dated March 10, 2011 of the august Supreme Court of Pakistan in Constitutional Petitions 60 and 61 of 2010.”
“Mr President, if the objective of the entire exercise is to select a nominee with impeccable reputation, integrity and credibility and unquestionable impartiality, there is no reason whatsoever for hesitation on the part of the government to engage with the opposition in a thorough, concrete and meaningful consultation. In the light of the above, I am of the view that a panel of possible candidates should be drawn up mutually and the nominee finalized after meaningful, purposive and consensus-oriented consultation,” Nisar adds.
Justice (r) Wajihuddin supported Nisar’s stance and said the consultation procedure adopted by President Zardari for the appointment of the NAB chairman was not appropriate. “Three names should have been floated by the government to make the consultation process meaningful… chief justice of Pakistan’s role in appointment of NAB chairman is also important, which was neglected by the president,” he said. The president, prime minister and opposition leader should sit together to reach a consensus and then they could consult the chief justice on the phone, he added.