Court defers decision on Ashiana-e-Iqbal NAB reference

LAHORE: An accountability court here deferred its verdict on Ashiana-e-Iqbal reference after the Supreme Court’s order on last Tuesday, ARY News reported.

“The Supreme Court’s order causes an ambiguity. The decision of the reference will be announced after clarification of the apex court’s order,” accountability judge said.

The accountability court adjourned hearing till November 18.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, October 31, barred accountability courts from making final decisions in graft cases till the next hearing of the review plea in the NAB amendments case.

On September 15, the Supreme Court of Pakistan struck down amendments made to National Accountability Bureau laws as it announced its reserved verdict on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman’s plea.

A five-member bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, comprising Justice Amin-Ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi heard the federal government’s intra-court appeal against the SC verdict on amendments in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

The court said that the next hearing of the plea against NAB amendments case verdict will be heard after the issuance of the detailed verdict in the Practice and Procedure Act case.

The SC in its short order also restrained accountability courts from making any final decisions in corruption cases.