NA adopts bill to fight financial crimes

ISLAMABAD – The National Assembly in Thursday’s sitting passed two bills, including ‘The Public Interest disclosure Bill, 2017’, aimed at fighting financial crimes.

The bill was passed with the disapproval of its different by opposition parties PPP-P, PTI and MQM.

The bill moved by Minister for Law Zahid Hamid was mainly designed to work against financial crimes, including money-laundering, fraud embezzlement, kickback, commissions, and other forms of corruption and corrupt practices.

“Person disclosing information relating to these crimes in the public interest (also called whistle-blowers) are often subjected to retaliation in the form of discrimination, intimidation, abuse unjust disciplinary action,” according to the statement of objects and reasons of the bill. In such a situation, it says, protection of persons making such public interest disclosure by reporting in good faith acts of corruption and other wrongdoings and illegal activities, is integral and accountability and support a clean working environment.

Zahid Hamid, while responding to the reservations, said the opposition parties had not submitted any amendment. “It will prove very effective against the menace of corruption,” he claimed.

Whereas, the opposition parties PPP-P, PTI and MQM have submitted dissenting note on it. “The Public Interest Discourse bill, 2017 was not supplied to the committee members as had been decided in previous meetings,” they said in their dissenting note, adding the amendments were also suggested which the law ministry should have brought back to committee to see exact wording.

Dr Shireen Mazari from PTI , taking the floor, said that this bill would be meaningless with the inclusion of ‘The clause-6 (Exemption from disclosure)’.

The clause-6 (Exemption from disclosure) says: “disclosure should not be made if the information is likely to prejudicially affect sovereignty and integrity of Pakistan, relation with foreign country, may lead to incitement to offence, impede the process of investigation etc”. The house also passed ‘The Pakistan Tobacco Board (amendment) bill,2017’, moved by Minister for Law Zahidm Hamid.

The House passed resolution to acknowledge the services of Dr Ruth Pfau. The lawmakers from both sides of the aisle observed one minute silence and passed a unanimous resolution to pay tribute to Dr Ruth Pfau for her services to eliminate leprosy in Pakistan.

“Dr Ruth Pfau may be given state funeral and Ruth Pfau foundation may also be established. The late Dr Ruth had come to Pakistan from Germany in 1960, and was granted Pakistani citizenship in 1988. In 1979, she was awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, the second highest civilian award of the country,” says the resolution.

It was due to the endless struggle of Dr Pfau that Pakistan defeated the disease and became leprosy-free in 1996”.

The resolution composed by Dr Nafeesa Shah was moved by the Minister for SAFRON Abdul Qadir Baloch, which was adopted unanimously by the House.

Meanwhile, journalists staged a walkout over manhandling of media persons by PML-N supporters during GT Road rally. Minister for parliamentary affairs Sheikh Aftab asked the chair to hold neutral inquiry into the incident. Speaker National Assembly asked interior ministry officials to probe the incident in seven days.

Source: The Nation