The treasury and opposition benches have agreed to constitute a parliamentary body comprising members from both the National Assembly and Senate for bringing amendments in the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999.
Speaking in the National Assembly on Tuesday, Minister for Law Zahid Hamid said across-the-board accountability is part of the manifesto of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and that they want to turn the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) into an independent commission to take decisions on the basis of merit.
Other members representing various parties emphasised that the parliamentary committee should be constituted at the earliest and it should be given a timeframe to complete its task.
They said there is need to strengthen the NAB and free it from any political interference. They said that all the parties want across-the-board accountability and those involved in corrupt practices should be brought to book.
Later, Shaikh Salahuddin of Muttahida Qaumi Movement introduced “The National Accountability (Amendment) Bill, 2016”. The speaker said the bill will be referred for consideration to the parliamentary committee after its constitution.