Special bench to hear Imran Khan's plea against NAB amendments

ISLAMABAD: A special bench of the Supreme Court (SC) will hear the petition filed by former Prime Minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan against the recent amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999, ARY News reported on Friday.

According to details, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Justice Umar Ata Bandial will hear the PTI Chairman’s plea against the NAB amendments on July 19.

The special bench – constituted by the Chief Justice of Pakistan – also consists Justice Ijazul Haq and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah.

It is pertinent to mention here that former prime minister Imran Khan had moved Supreme Court to challenge recent amendments to the National Accountability (NAB) Ordinance by the coalition government.

In the petition, the former prime minister prayed to the apex court to declare all amendments made to sections 2, 4, 5, 26, 6, 14, 15, 23, 21 and 25 null and void since they were against the constitution.

NAB ordinance

The joint session of the Parliament on June 9 passed the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Bill 2021. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarrar presented the bill in the joint session of Parliament.

President Dr Arif Alvi had previously refused to sign the bills – one aimed at limiting the powers of NAB. After the joint sitting’s approval, the bills were sent once again to the President for approval.

The bills passed from the joint sitting of the Parliament turned into law within 10 days after President refused it for the second time. On June 23, the gazette notification made the NAB amendment bills into law.

According to law, cases pertaining to tax evasion, federal or provincial cabinets, and state banks have been deemed out of NAB’s jurisdiction, the notification said. “Now onwards NAB must complete inquiries within a period of six months,” as per new law.