ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court on Friday accepted a set of appeals filed by the federal government and others against the court’s Sept 15, 2023 verdict, which had nullified changes in the accountability laws.
A five-member SC larger bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, and comprising Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah, and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi announced the reserved the verdict in favour of the government.
CJP Isa ruled that PTI founder Imran Khan failed to prove that the NAB amendments were unconstitutional.
During the last hearing, Khan, who challenged the amendments, attended the hearing via video link from the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi and completed his arguments.
Previous Ruling
It is recalled that a three-member bench of the apex court had struck down amendments made to NAB laws on the PTI founder’s plea in 2022.
In a majority 2-1 verdict, the top court had approved Imran Khan’s petition challenging amendments made to the country’s accountability laws during the tenure of the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government.
The top court also restored graft cases against public office holders that were closed down following the amendments to NAB laws.
Subsequently, the federal government filed the review plea in the case under the SC Practice and Procedure Law and made the Federation of Pakistan, National Accountability Bureau, and PTI founder respondents.
Citing no violation of basic rights with the NAB amendments, the federal government pleaded with the SC to review its decision. “Legislation is the right of the Parliament,” the plea said.
“This was a paramount consideration when we had dismissed the application. And, our apprehension proved correct later in the day”, it added.
What Were the NAB Amendments/
The amendments had made several modifications in the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999, including reducing the tenure of the NAB chairman and prosecutor general to three years, limiting anti-graft watchdog’s jurisdiction to cases involving over Rs500 million, and transferring all pending investigations and trials to the relevant authorities.
