The government on Saturday (Today) announced that it will be passing an ordinance before midnight on Jan 7, 2016 to disbar for life public office holders and government servants who have benefited from the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) plea bargain and voluntary return laws.
“The ordinance will impose a lifetime ban on public representatives involved in corruption if they opt for plea bargain under the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) ordinance,” Dar said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Saturday.
“The ordinance will come into force from Saturday midnight and will be implementable without delay,” the finance minister added.
The government, Dar added, decided to immediately introduce the ordinance as the introduction of a bill in this regard could delay the matter.
“We were being criticised for not disqualifying public office holders and government servants from office if they opted for plea bargain,” Law Minister Zahid Hamid added.
Explaining the new law, Hamid said, “Voluntary return and plea bargain provisions have now both been merged.”
“In both cases, an individual who wants to return the amounts embezzled will require court approval and will be deemed to be convicted; if he is a holder of public office, he will be dismissed and disqualified from holding that public office for life, ” Hamid explained, adding that the same would apply to government servants.
