File image of NAB office 

KARACHI: In a letter to respective provincial departments, commissioners and deputy commissioners; Sindh government stated that with the revocation of National Accountability Ordinance 1999 (NAO) ? all cases, inquiries, and complaints will now be probed by a provincial anti-corruption establishment.

The letter reiterated that with the new law in effect, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will have no role in the province, as it is now mandated to only probe and hear cases related to the federal institutions.

Sindh Government's letter to provincial bureaucracy. File image: Geo News

Earlier, the provincial government officially ended the jurisdiction of the NAO 1999 in the province on August 10. A notification issued by the law ministry directed authorities to print the NAO 1999 repeal bill 2017.

On July 3, the Sindh Assembly passed the 'anti-NAB bill', which seeks to revoke NAB?s power in the province. The bill was vehemently opposed by opposition members of the house.

Notification repealing NAB Ordinance in Sindh issued

Sindh Assembly passed the 'anti-NAB bill' earlier last month

The opposition members also staged a walkout from the provincial assembly in protest of the anti-NAB bill.

MQM-Pakistan leader Faisal Subzwari, speaking to the media, rejected the bill saying it was an attempt to cover the irregularities carried out by the corrupt.

?We reject this [anti-NAB] bill and will challenge it in the court,? he vowed.

Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair refused to sign the bill twice and sent it back along with an objection note to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

CM Sindh stands by anti-NAB bill

Repealing National Accountability Ordinance within the jurisdiction of the provincial government: Murad Ali Shah

Regarding his concerns, Zubair had said that repealing the NAO is against public interest, adding ?it is our responsibility to ensure the elimination of corruption.?

Speaking in the assembly on July 26, the chief minister had addressed the opposition?s reservations regarding the repeal of the law.

Shah pointed out that repealing the ordinance in question fell well within the jurisdiction of the provincial government.

The commission's chairman, to be nominated by the assembly, would be independent, the chief minister assured. The chairman would put together a committee which would comprise opposition members and the speaker, he added.