An accountability court in Islamabad Monday barred the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from handling the new Toshakhana reference against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi, handing it over to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) court.
The development comes after the restoration of amendments to NAB laws in the light of the Supreme Court’s decision last week.
During the hearing of Imran Khan’s bail petition, Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Ali Waraich declared that following the NAB amendments, the reference in question no longer falls under the anti-graft body’s jurisdiction.
Therefore, it should be transferred to the FIA court, which will rule on bail. The attorney representing the PTI founder stated that, in light of such amendments, the case should not even exist.
“…In the light of the judgement of Hon’ble Supreme Court of Pakistan passed in intra court appeals… the 1st, 2nd & 3rd amendments made in National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999 have been revived,” the court said in its written judgment.
The court stated that the case “[does] not fall within the jurisdiction of this court in the light of amended section 5(0) of NAO, 1999, therefore, this court lacks jurisdiction to proceed with [the] case in hand.”
On September 6, the Supreme Court, unanimously, allowing the appeals of the federal government and some individuals, set aside the judgment, declaring the amendments made to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999, null and void, and restoring the changes in the NAB law.
A five-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Aminuddin Khan Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah, and Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, on Friday, announced its reserved judgment on the federation’s and some individuals’ appeals.
A three-judge bench, headed by former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on September 15, 2023 by a majority of 2:1 declared most provisions of the amendments made to the NAB Ordinance as unconstitutional.
The five judges’ judgment, authored by Justice Faez, said; “The petition (filed by ex-PM Imran Khan) and the impugned judgment failed to establish that the amendments were unconstitutional nor the Court has been so persuaded in this regard.”
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