NAB, election bills to be laid before joint session to bypass President's nod

ISLAMABAD: Federal government has decided to table National Accountability Ordinance (Amendment) 2022, and Election Reforms Bill before the joint session of the Parliament in order to avoid rejection from President Arif Alvi, ARY NEWS reported.

The government, according to sources, is sceptical that the president would not approve the bills, following PTI’s strong opposition to the bills.

Therefore, they said that the government has decided to table the bills before the joint session of Parliament as the president’s approval could then be bypassed for their implementation.

Amendments in NAB law approved from National Assembly

In a bid to curtail the powers of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the National Assembly on Thursday approved amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance 1999, ARY NEWS reported.

The bill was tabled by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar who said that multiple amendments were made in the accountability Ordinance to clip the powers exercised by the accountability bureau.

Sharing details of the key amendments, he said that after fresh amendments, no arrests could be made before completion of the investigation process, and the suspect will have the right to obtain bail while 90-day remand is also abolished.

National Assembly reverses EVM use, voting rights for overseas Pakistanis 

Similarly, the Election Act amendment bill 2022 also sailed through the National Assembly yesterday, reversing PTI-led government’s measure to give voting rights to overseas Pakistanis and use of electronic voting machines during the next elections.

After the passage of the bill, the overseas Pakistanis would not be able to cast their vote from abroad however they could cast their votes while residing in Pakistan.

Moreover, it has been suggested that reserved seats should be introduced for Pakistani diaspora and the matter was sent to a standing committee for a final nod.

Speaking regarding the use of Electronic Voting Machines in next general elections, Azam Nazeer Tarar said: “We are not against use of technology, but we have concerns about misuse of technology as Results Transmission System (RTS) had failed in last general elections to favour a particular political party.”

He went onto say that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had also expressed its inability to hold elections through I-Voting and EVMs in a short span of time.