'Proposed amendments by opposition to affect anti-money laundering law'

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the amendments in the National Accountability Ordinance (NAB) ordinance proposed by the opposition will impact the effectiveness of the anti-money laundering law, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi, while talking to ARY News programme ‘Off The Record’, said that a committee had been constituted to finalise four legislations including NAB ordinance. Three out four legislations were related to the action plan given by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), he added.

“We held a section-wise discussion on NAB regulations and also consulted legal experts. If we go ahead to accept the proposed amendments of the opposition, the accountability process will be buried. It is the priority of the FATF to curb money laundering. The proposed points of the opposition will affect anti-money laundering law.”

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“Both parties [Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)] remained into power in the country for 10 years but failed to design NAB law. We had asked the opposition members [in the parliamentary committee] whether they are forcing the government to accept their suggestion in 10 hours.”

Qureshi said that the government side has also told the opposition for not using NAB law as a bargaining tool for making progress on legislation related to FATF. He detailed that the opposition parties were suggesting not to hold inquiry of the cases older than five years despite the fact that many cases are still pending.

“How can we shut cases of financial dents to the national exchequer in the 1990s and other cases of 2015? It is not possible.”

Read: ‘Accepting proposed points of opposition tantamount to pack up NAB’

“India is trying to place Pakistan in FATF’s blacklist. I am levelling an allegation on the opposition but are they willing to see Pakistan in the blacklist.”

Shah Mehmood Qureshi, who is also the chairman of the parliamentary committee on legislative business, clarified that the anti-corruption watchdog is an independent institution and nobody is seeking relief from the NAB for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

The foreign minister expressed hopes that the government and opposition sides will a way to make consensus over the legislative matters. He said that the opposition parties should definitely go to the all parties conference (APC), however, they should review their 35-point amendments.

Earlier in the day, the federal government rejected the proposed amendments in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) ordinance tabled by the opposition.

The opposition has attempted to clip the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) wings by proposing amendments in the NAB Ordinance, however, the federal government rejected to accept it.