SC seeks written arguments on NAB law tweaks

ISLAMABAD:

The apex court has asked the attorneys for Imran Khan and the federal government to submit their written arguments with regard to amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 (NAO), the law that governs the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The court has noted that it will list the case for hearing after going through these arguments.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial on Tuesday resumed hearing of a petition filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan against amendments made to the NAO, 1999 by the incumbent government in May last year.

The counsel for the federal government, Makhdoom Ali Khan, appeared in the court via video link from Karachi.  When the CJP said in a lighter tone that “you are very far from us”, Khan replied that he was not sure if he could reach the SC building yesterday due to the situation there.

The ruling coalition staged a sit-in outside the apex court on Monday to protest against the Supreme Court’s allegedly preferential treatment of the PTI chief Imran Khan.

“These days it is difficult to get information as social media is also not working,” he said in reference to an unannounced suspension of social media since arrest of Imran Khan on May 9 – an event which was followed by mass protests across Pakistan.

The CJP noted that his statement “Good to see you Khan sb” was also misinterpreted on social media platforms.

CJP Bandial came under fire for allegedly welcoming the PTI chief when the latter was called to the apex court two days after his arrest in a corruption case by NAB, the country’s top graft buster.

Talking with reference to the NAB law amendment case, the CJP said the bench had conducted 46 hearings of the case with Imran’s counsel Khawaja Haris advancing arguments in 26 hearings and Makhdoom Ali Khan presenting arguments in 20 hearings.

He said the bench does not want to prolong this case unnecessarily as the bench members may not be available during the court holidays.

Read SC urges govt, PTI to resume dialogue

The judge asked the two sides to submit their written arguments, stating that the bench will either make a decision on the basis of these arguments or list the case again for hearing, if it finds there is a need for further arguments.

Earlier, Makhdoom Ali Khan said Imran Khan who has challenged the NAB law amendments is the first beneficiary of the amendment in the history of Pakistan. “Apparently, Imran Khan wants to deprive other people the benefit that he has recently enjoyed,” he added.

He claimed that it has also happened for the first time that a former prime minister [Imran Khan] after being ejected from power challenged amendments to a law that he had himself introduced.

Khan claimed that a person who is critical of a law cannot enjoy benefits under the same piece of legislation. He claimed that the petitioner also failed to prove how the amendments are directly against the basic human rights.

“The petition against the amendments is a long list of objections based on conjectures,” he said.

Imran’s petition contended that most of the amendments made in the NAO, 1999 were “person-specific”. The petition also objected to the amendment, which restricted the NAB chairman to complete an inquiry within six months.

It questioned the substitution of Section 9 of the NAO wherein amendments had been made to the definition of “benamidar” as well as the amendments relating to investigation of bank balance of an accountholder.