ISLAMABAD
\nThe Supreme Court of Pakistan has reserved its verdict on a petition filed by PTI chief and former prime minister Imran Khan against the amendments in the NAB law, with Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial pledging \u201ca sweet and brief ruling soon\u201d.
\nCJP Bandial said his retirement is nearing so the brief verdict in the NAB amendments case will be pronounced soon as the apex court concluded hearing into the case on Tuesday.
\nA three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by the CJP and comprised Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah heard the concluding arguments in connection with the Imran Khan\u2019s petition filed in 2022. In total 51 hearings of the case were held.
\nDuring the hearing of the case, the CJP remarked that the withdrawal of the references clearly showed the law\u2019s lean was in which direction. \u201cWe no longer take suo motu notice learning from the past,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cThe NAB law regarding military officers has been endorsed by the SC in the past while it is completely silent regarding judges,\u201d the federal government\u2019s lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan told the court.
\n\u201cThere is no forum for redressal of complaints against retired judges. Judges continue to write judgments for six months after retirement,\u201d he added. \u201cLet the legislators be accountable to the people,\u201d he stated.
\nThe attorney general apologised for not appearing before the court. \u201cThe attorney general had to go abroad in a hurry without informing for which he apologises,\u201d the additional attorney general told the court.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s okay. Submit the written submissions,\u201d the CJP said. \u201cAlso include questions about the accountability of judges and the army [in the written submissions],\u201d Justice Mansoor Ali Shah said to the additional attorney general.
\nAt the outset of the hearing, lawyer Khawaja Haris contended before the court: \u201cA lot of pending cases have been returned after the NAB amendments.\u201d At this, CJP Bandial inquired if there were any sections in the amendments under which cases could be referred to another forum.
\n\u201cAfter these amendments, a lot of NAB\u2019s work has come to an end,\u201d he noted. The lawyer then replied that as per the amendments, an investigation would be conducted, after the review of which the cases could be sent to other forums.
\nHe also informed the court that after the changes to the law, NAB neither had the authority to deal with the cases nor send them to other relevant forums. Here, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah noted that a law was not needed to forward cases to other relevant forums.
\nThe CJP then noted that it was on record whose references had been returned till May this year. While admitting that defending oneself was easier under the NAB amendments, Haris contended that his client was not taking advantage of them and recalled he had told the NAB the same.
\nAt one point during the hearing, Justice Shah noted that Army officers had been excused from the NAB ordinance, to which Haris responded that the Army Act 1952 already had provisions to deal with cases related to the military.
\nJustice Shah then asked, \u201cIs a corrupt Army officer not directly related to the public?\u201d noting that officers of other institutions were dealt with according to the NAB ordinance, including the judiciary. CJP Bandial remarked that the lack of clarity on crimes such as smuggling, illegal transfer of money, or state institutions being used for corruption was \u201cupsetting\u201d.
\n\u201cMaking the public prosper and secure is the state\u2019s responsibility,\u201d he remarked. The court then reserved the verdict on the matter, with the CJP saying, \u201cWe will soon announce a short and sweet verdict of the case.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The Supreme Court of Pakistan has reserved its verdict on a petition filed by PTI chief and former prime minister Imran Khan against the amendments in the NAB law, with Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial pledging \u201ca sweet and brief ruling soon\u201d. CJP Bandial said his retirement is nearing so the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253312,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-354062","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n