Amraiz Khan
Lahore
The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday raised objection to a plea challenging amendments in NAB Ordinance 1999 saying that it cannot be fixed for hearing due to winter vacations in the court. The law was promulgated by federal government on Friday through a presidential ordinance. LHC returned the petition to Advocate Ishtiaq A Chaudhry who will now file the same after Jan 8, 2020. It is worth mentioning here that the court entertains urgent nature cases only including stay matters and bail petitions during vacations.
The petition took the stance that the Ordinance has abolished the authority of NAB to investigate corruption cases, requesting the court to suspend the decree. The court pointed out that the petition could only be heard after the winter holidays and, thus, could not be fixed for an immediate hearing.
The federal cabinet on Friday gave its approval to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance 2019 which was later sent to President Arif Alvi for his assent. As per the amended ordinance, the anti-graft watchdog will no longer be able to take action against government officials. The ordinance 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.
