NAB Amendment Case
ISLAMABAD: The federal government has made the decision to submit a review petition against the Supreme Court’s ruling in the NAB amendment case.
On September 15, the Supreme Court of Pakistan issued its reserved verdict on a plea filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman. The court declared null and void the amendments made to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws.
Just a day before his retirement, former chief justice Bandial, announced the decision. Umar Ata Bandial retired on Sept 16 as the chief justice of Pakistan.
In a majority verdict of 2-1, the apex court upheld PTI chief Imran Khan’s petition, challenging the changes made to the country’s accountability laws during the tenure of the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government.
A review petition is set to be presented to the Supreme Court in the upcoming week, with the law ministry already in the process of drafting it.
Regarding the verdict itself, the three-member bench, led by the then Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and including Justice Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Ijazul Ahsan, had reserved their judgment on September 5.
NAB sends back politicians cases to accountability courts after SC’s decision
Meanwhile, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has sent references against several politicians back to accountability courts following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down certain sections of the amendments made to the NAB Ordinance last year.
The NAB held an emergency meeting after the Supreme Court’s verdict and the NAB Chairman gave approval for sending cases to accountability courts.
The references involve prominent politicians, including former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif, Yousuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, former president Asif Zardari, and former finance minister Ishaq Dar and many others.
The Supreme Court’s majority 2-1 verdict led to the restoration of corruption cases against public representatives. The decision invalidated some sections of the amendments made to the accountability laws by the previous coalition government.
These cases include the Toshakhana reference against Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari, and Yousuf Raza Gilani, the LNG reference against former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the rental power reference against Raja Pervez Ashraf, and the assets beyond means case against Ishaq Dar. These cases will now resume in the accountability courts.
In June 2022, the former prime minister filed a petition with the Supreme Court challenging the amendments made to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) ordinance under the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Act 2022.
