Corruption stokes injustice in society, says CJ

Govt lawyer says NAB powers have been increased through the latest amendments

ISLAMABAD:

Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial remarked on Wednesday he had clearly stated that corruption created discrimination and stoked injustice in society, as he heard arguments of the government’s lawyer on a petition against amendments to the accountability law.

The chief justice led a three-member special bench to hear the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s petition challenging the amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO).

During the hearing, the bench was informed that PTI chairman’s lawyer Khawaja Haris was busy at the high court, pleading for the suspension of arrest warrants against Imran. However, the court allowed the government’s lawyer to continue his arguments.

Makhdoom Ali Khan, the lawyer for the federal government told the bench that the court had asked several times for bringing transparency in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws but the court instructions were not implemented.

He added that the present government added some more amendments to those proposed by the PTI. He told the bench, through the amendments, NAB’s powers had not been reduced, rather those were increased.

Commenting on Imran’s petition, Makhdoom Ali Khan said that the former prime minister’s standpoint was based on assumptions about the application of law. He added that Imran Khan had kept his cabinet members out of the NAB’s ambit.

The government’s lawyer pointed out that the PTI government itself introduced an amnesty scheme in 2019. On that the chief justice remarked that the scheme turned out to be a success as lot many people benefited from it. Khan replied that now no-one would take the amnesty scheme in the future because NAB took the action afterwards.

Sitting on the bench, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah asked whether or not the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had asked for NAB investigation into the money laundering cases. Khan replied in the negative.

The chief justice asked as to who had the authority to investigate fake accounts. Khan replied that keeping the nature of fake accounts in view, NAB could also investigate such cases. Later, the hearing of the case was adjourned till March 16 (today).