LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) chief Siraj ul Haq on Sunday lashed out at the government for "attempting to clip NAB's wings'with the new ordinance and turning the accountability system in the country into a joke. 

Speaking at a press conference, Siraj called on the government to restructure the anti-graft body to ensure it worked properly. 

The federal cabinet and president gave their assent to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Amendment Ordinance 2019 on Friday. As per the ordinance, the anti-graft body cannot take action against government employees. The ordinance curtailed NAB's jurisdiction over matters relating to tax, stock exchange and IPOs.

"The accountability system in the country has turned into a joke in the past 15 months," said Siraj during a press conference. "The government has attempted to clip NAB's wings through this ordinance."

He said democracy in the country was weak. The JI chief said without a strong and vibrant democracy, the country won't be able to function properly.

Prime Minister Imran and his cabinet have been at the receiving end of criticism since the past couple of days after the ordinance was approved.  Opposition leaders have accused the prime minister of saving his cronies from the anti-corruption watchdog.

Senior leader of the JUI-F, AKram Durrani, had also accused the prime minister and his cabinet of saving themselves from NAB.

“The prime minister has given good news to his friends thorough the ordinance that they won’t be troubled anymore by NAB,” he said.

“NAB chairman should also inform us whether there is a stay order on Malam Jabba and the Billion Tree Tsunami?” he questioned.

Durrani demanded action be taken against any malpractices in the above mentioned projects.

“There is neither gas nor electricity in this government’s tenure,” he said.

Minister for Information and Labour Sindh Saeed Ghani agreed with Durrani that the ordinance has benefited PM Imran's aides.

“Laws that affect the common man should have been amended, unfortunately, that did not happen,” he said.



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