ISLAMABD: The federal government has challenged the Supreme Court’s decision that invalidated amendments to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws. Filed under the recently endorsed Practice and Procedure law, the government’s review appeal argues that the court overstepped by deeming the amendments unconstitutional, asserting it impinged on parliamentary rights. The petition urges the court to reinstate the amendments, emphasizing the parliament’s legislative prerogative.
Parties implicated in the appeal include the government, NAB, and Imran Khan, Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, leading a three-member bench, had deemed the NAB law amendments illegal on September 15. The decision mandated the reopening of all corruption cases closed post-amendments.
Initiated on a petition by Imran Khan, the decision marked Bandial’s final act as Chief Justice. The contested amendments had curtailed NAB’s corruption probe powers to cases involving a minimum of Rs500 million. Additionally, the changes reduced the bureau chairman’s tenure and mandated the transfer of pending inquiries to relevant authorities.
Imran Khan asserted in the petition that the amendments aimed to legitimize corruption and favor ‘influential’ personalities.
