Supreme Court nullifies NAB amendments law

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday accepted the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s petition challenging amendments made to the country’s accountability laws during the tenure of the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM)-led government.

The Supreme Court declared the amendments made to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws null and void, while declaring PTI chairman’s petition against NAB amendments case admissible.

The top court declared the law setting the minimum limit of corruption in NAB at 500 million as invalid.

The court while declaringorders given by the accountability courts in the light of the NAB amendments are null and void, ordered reinstating all cases that ended up falling short of the Rs 500 million threshold.

Following the verdict, amendments with assets in excess of income will remain to the extent of government officers.

As per the verdict, the Toshakhana case against Shehbaz Sharif, Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and Yusuf Raza Gilani  have been reinstated .

The Pink residency reference against Asif Zardari has also been restored after the decision.

Besides, LNG against Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, reference against Shaukat Tareen also restored, while cases againstRaja Parvez Ashraf and Abdul Ghani Majeed and Anwar Majeed of Omni Group will also be reopened after the delivered verdict.

This decision follows 53 hearings and comes after the court reserved its verdict on September 5.

A three-judge special bench, led by the outgoing Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and including Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, presided over the hearings and delivered the verdict.

During the previous proceedings, the bench displayed differing opinions, with Justice Shah consistently questioning the petition’s maintainability, while CJP Bandial and Justice Ahsan expressed criticism regarding certain NAB law amendments made by the Pakistan Democratic Movement government.

Makhdoom Ali Khan represented the federal government, while Khawaja Haris represented Imran Khan in this case. The announcement of this ruling is expected to have significant implications for national politics.

Before his retirement, the Chief Justice was anticipated to deliver this verdict, and it’s worth noting that the judgment could have a lasting impact.

During the proceedings, the SC had instructed Attorney General of Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan to submit a written submission in support of the amendments on the day when the ruling was reserved.