On Wednesday, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) filed a request in the accountability court to reinstate 81 corruption cases valued at billions of rupees. This move follows the Islamabad High Court’s ruling, which deemed the NAB amendments as null and void.
The NAB chairman submitted these applications to Judge Muhammad Bashir’s court on Wednesday. According to reports, the NAB is seeking to reopen corruption cases against prominent figures such as former Prime Ministers Yusuf Raza Gilani and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former Finance Ministers Ishaq Dar and Miftah Ismail, as well as Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.
In a 2-1 verdict, the Supreme Court (SC) on Friday ordered the restoration of corruption cases against public office holders that were withdrawn after amendments were made to Pakistan’s accountability laws last year.
The reserved verdict was announced by a three-member bench comprising the outgoing Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on PTI Chairman Imran Khan’s petition challenging amendments made to the accountability laws.
The judgment came after 53 hearings were conducted on the ex-prime minister’s plea.
In the order, CJP Bandial and Justice Ahsan declared the petition to be maintainable while Justice Shah disagreed with the majority verdict, according to which not just the corruption cases but also the inquiries and investigations were directed to be restored.
The detailed court verdict, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, said the bench was primarily concerned with the amendments made in 2022, adding they had “indeed brought about a significant change in the legal position under the National Accountability Bureau Ordinance”.
