ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday resumed hearings on a series of intra-court appeals against annulment of amendments to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law.
A SC five-member bench led 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 is hearing the case.
PTI Founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan took part in the proceedings via video link from Adiala jail while his plea for personal appearance before the top court is still pending.
Imran Khan had the opportunity to discuss his difficulties in seeking legal assistance with Chief Justice Isa. He mentioned his isolation and lack of resources to prepare for the case.
Chief Justice Isa emphasized the importance of access to legal counsel and permitted Khan’s lawyer, Khawaja Haris, to meet his client in Adiala Jail.
In 2022, amendments to the accountability laws were passed under the Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government.
These amendments altered the NAB Ordinance (NAO) 1999, including shortening the terms of the NAB chairman and prosecutor general to three years, limiting NAB’s jurisdiction to cases involving amounts exceeding Rs500 million, and transferring all pending inquiries, investigations, and trials to relevant authorities.
Imran Khan last year in September had approached the Supreme Court against amendments to the country’s accountability laws.
Under the leadership of former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, along with Justices Mansoor Ali Shah and Ijazul Ahsan, the court held more than 50 hearings.
With a majority decision of 2-1, the court reinstated corruption cases against public officials that had been closed due to the amendments.
The court ordered the reopening of all corruption cases valued at less than Rs500 million that had been closed against political leaders and public office holders, declaring the amendments null and void.
This ruling has significant implications, as it means that cases against several prominent political figures in the country will resume in the accountability courts.
These cases include the Toshakhana reference involving PML-N President Nawaz Sharif, PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as well as the LNG reference against former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and the rental power reference against another former premier, Raja Parvez Ashraf.
Following the verdict, the federal government filed appeals against the apex court’s ruling.
