Supreme Court questions PTI Chairperson Imran Khan\u2019s decision to abandon National Assembly
\nISLAMABAD
\nJustice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on Wednesday said that former prime minister Imran Khan could have raised objections on the amendments in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law if he had stayed in the National Assembly.
\nThe judge remarked this while questioning Imran Khan\u2019s decision to abandon National Assembly, as the apex court\u2019s three-member bench resumed the hearing on PTI chairman\u2019s plea against the recent amendments made to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999.
\nKhan, through his lawyer Khawaja Haris, had filed an application under Rule 6 of SC Rules 180 for the placing on record of documents in the petition, challenging the NAB Ordinance 1999 amendments.
\n\u201cPeople had put their trust in Imran Khan and sent him to the [National] Assembly. How and why could he leave the assembly without the will of people in his constituency,\u201d Justice Shah remarked as he heard the plea alongside Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and CJP Umar Ata Bandial.
\nHe said that the former prime minister could have raised objections to the new NAB law if he had stayed in the assembly.
\nThe remark came in response to Imran Khan\u2019s lawyer Khawaja Haris\u2019 argument that the elected representatives of the people could only approach the courts if the works are not done in the respective constituencies.
\nAt the outset of the hearing, NAB informed the court about adopting the stance of the attorney general in the case.
\nImran\u2019s lawyer Haris maintained that the accountability laws have been present since 1949.
\n\u201cNone of the [modifications] in the accountability laws have given an exemption to the public representatives,\u201d he said, adding that NAB laws were made ineffective through amendments.
\nAt this, Justice Shah inquired what could the apex court do if the parliament abolishes the NAB law.
\n\u201cHas the SC ever issued an order to restore an abolished law,\u201d he asked.
\nAt this, Haris informed the court that the apex court had ordered to restore a law abolished in 1990.
\n\u2018Imran could have trusted parliament\u2019
\n\u201cYour petitioner has brought the [NAB] amendments to court but he could have trusted the parliament and stayed in it,\u201d Justice Shah remarked.
\nAt this, Haris replied that the government gets the laws passed on the basis of its majority.
\nMeanwhile, Haris also presented arguments over the \u201cmajor\u201d changes in laws regarding plea bargain.
\n\u201cThe accused can seek plea bargain money back after acquittal,\u201d Haris said.
\nAt this, CJ Bandial remarked that if this was the case, the state would have to pay billions of rupees
\nLater, the court adjourned the hearing till 12:30pm on October 6. The apex court is holding hearings on the Imran Khan\u2019s plea on a daily basis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Supreme Court questions PTI Chairperson Imran Khan\u2019s decision to abandon National Assembly ISLAMABAD Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on Wednesday said that former prime minister Imran Khan could have raised objections on the amendments in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law if he had stayed in the National Assembly. The judge remarked this while questioning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":219497,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[2833,8792,292],"class_list":{"0":"post-287600","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-imran-khan","9":"tag-nab-amendments","10":"tag-supreme-court"},"yoast_head":"\n