By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Friday gave its approval to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance 2019. The ordinance will be sent to President ArifAlvi for his assent. The ordinance was given approval through circulation. Earlier, sources had said that the law ministry had forwarded a summary to the prime minister so that it could be discussed at the next cabinet session. The anti-graft watchdog will no longer be able to take action against government officials if the ordinance passes, claimed sources. Moreover, the proposed ordinance also states that the property of government employees cannot be frozen without a court order. Furthermore, if the accountability watchdog cannot complete an investigation against a suspect within three months, the accused will be entitled to bail. As per the new ordinance, NAB will now only be able to proceed in corruption cases of Rs500 million and more. Moreover, according to the amendment ordinance, NAB’s jurisdiction over matters relating to tax, stock exchange and IPOs has been curtailed.
