President Arif Alvi refuses to assent bill amending NAB Ordinance

ISLAMABAD: President Arif Ali has refused to sign a bill amending NAB Ordinance and returned it to the Parliament and said that there were flaws in the legislation, ARY NEWS reported.

In a series of messages from the Twitter handle of the presidency, President Arif Alvi said that as conceived originally, the bill took inspiration from Hazrat Umar (RA) incident when asked about the source of extra cloth in his cloak.

“The onus in financial crimes is on the accused to provide a money trail,” he said and added that unfortunately, there were flaws in the NAB’s implementation.

President Arif Alvi lamented that it was misused for political exigencies by those in power and by vested interests while the public clamored for the return of looted wealth, long judicial processes, and poor prosecution failed most efforts.

He said that instead of improving the law to avoid miscarriage, close loopholes, and make it stronger, they are weakening it beyond recognition. “These changes will demolish accountability, creating a façade of justice that blatantly hides a corrupt elite capture ensuring the exploitation of the common man in an unjust society.”

In addition to it, he said that the poor will continue to be jailed for petty crimes while the corrupt rich will be free to loot and plunder.

Therefore, with deep discomfort and pain, I state that my conscience does not allow me to sign this Bill.
Please read his complete response here👇https://t.co/G8ldHlJVKL

— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) June 20, 2022