It has been reported in certain sections of Press that the new CPEC Authority Bill, 2020 will give immunity to Chairman, CPEC Authority and other officers from investigations of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA)

Dated : 22 October 2020

It has been reported in certain sections of Press that the new CPEC Authority Bill, 2020 will give immunity to Chairman, CPEC Authority and other officers from investigations of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The news report is misleading. The report probably refers to the “indemnity” clause (Section 23) of the Bill, which is a standard clause in many similar laws which indemnify authorities for actions done in good faith, under the respective laws.

The indemnity clause is provided for in Public Procurement Regularity Authority (PPRA) Ordinance 2002 (Section 23), Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) Ordinance 2002 (Section 39), Alternate Energy Development Board (AEDB) Act 2010 (Section 21), Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) Act 2010 (Section 48) and Public Private Partnership Authority (PPPA) Act 2017 (Section 26) and similar other laws.

It is further clarified that the clause in question was also a part of the CPEC Authority Ordinance promulgated in Oct 2019 and is not a new insertion. It is in consonance with other similar laws. The speculation regarding this clause is therefore misplaced and unfounded.