ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court’s decision, which invalidated amendments to the National Accountability Bureau laws, has been contested by the federal government.
Under the recently ratified Practice and Procedure law, the government has lodged an appeal, arguing that the court’s declaration of the amendments as unconstitutional infringed upon parliamentary rights. Furthermore, the petition requests the court to reinstate the amendments, asserting that legislating is the prerogative of the parliament.
The government, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan are all parties to the petition.
On September 15, a three-member bench made a ruling. They were led by former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, and in their judgment, they deemed the amendments to the NAB law as unlawful. Moreover, the ruling also mandated the reopening of all corruption cases that were closed following the amendments.
Imran Khan had filed the petition, and it marked Bandial’s final decision as Chief Justice.
The NAB amendments had limited the bureau’s authority to investigate corruption cases involving at least Rs500 million. The amendments also reduced the chairman’s tenure and mandated the transfer of pending inquiries to the relevant authorities.
In his petition, Imran Khan presented an argument. He contended that the amendments were introduced for two purposes: to legitimize corruption and to confer advantages upon ‘influential’ individuals.
