SC unanimously restores NAB amendments, rejects PTI's challenge

The Supreme Court (SC) has restored the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amendments, overturning the previous decision that had annulled these changes on Friday. 

According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, the Supreme Court has accepted the federal government's appeal against the annulment of the NAB amendments.

The Supreme Court's decision to overturn the annulment of NAB amendments was unanimous, declaring that the Chief Justice and judges cannot act as gatekeepers for the Parliament.

Justice Athar Minallah, who wrote an additional note, rejected the federal government’s intra-court appeal. Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi also penned an additional note. The detailed judgement will be published on the Supreme Court’s website.

Earlier, former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan had declared the NAB amendments null and void on September 15. However, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, who was part of the three-member bench, had disagreed with the verdict.

As per the channel report, the PDM government had introduced 27 amendments to the NAB law in 2022, and the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, had challenged these amendments in the Supreme Court. Former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan had accepted the PTI founder’s petition.

The Supreme Court emphasised that it should make every possible effort to uphold the legislation. It was noted that the PTI founder failed to prove that the NAB amendments conflicted with the Constitution of Pakistan.

Reporters: Amanat Gishkori and Hashir Ahsan