SC restores PDM-made NAB amendments

The Supreme Court on Friday announced the reserve verdict on the intra-court appeal of the federal government against the September 16 ruling of the apex court that annulled the amendments in the laws of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa pronounced the verdict reserved by a five-member bench, with Justice Aminuddin, Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minullah, and Justice Azhar Rizvi, on June 6 after hearing the arguments on intra-court appeals filed by the federal government and other political parties.

In September 2023, Former Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial led a three-member bench, comprising Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah — who shared a dissented note — had accepted the PTI founder Imran Khan’s petition, seeking restoration of corruption cases against public office holders.

“The CJP and Judges can not be gatekeepers of the parliament, as the constitution already defined their roles separately,” the 5-0 majority verdict stated today.

“Whenever possible, the Supreme Court should strive to maintain legislation enacted by the parliament,” it added.

The ruling stated that Imran Khan could not prove that the amendments were made against the constitutions.

In 2022, amendments were made to the country’s accountability laws by the then-Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government.

The amendments in the NAB Ordinance 1999 reduced the term of Chairman Nab and the prosecutor general to three years and restricted the Nab jurisdiction to cases involving over Rs500 million.

Subsequently, the ousted prime minister Imran Khan approached the SC against the amendments and claimed changes were made to benefit the influential persons to legitimise their corruption.

The SC ruling of 2023 was challenged in 2024 and the CJP-led bench resumed the hearing of ICA on May 14. Imran Khan attended the hearing via video link as per the court order.