Supreme Court Justice Ijazul Ahsan on Tuesday said that the amendments made to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws were carried out only to benefit the very lawmakers that legislated on it.
\nAfter coming into power in April, the incumbent PDM government had passed the Nati\u00adonal Accountability (Second Amendment) Act 2022 \u2014 a move that was heavily criticised by PTI, who termed the legislation an attempt to turn the anti-graft watchdog into a \u201ctoothless\u201d organisation.
\nIn June, former prime minister Imran Khan challenged the amendments to the NAB ordinance. The petition stated that the amendments will \u201cvirtually eliminate any white-collar crime committed by a public officer holder.\u201d
\nA three judge-bench comprising Chief Justice (CJ) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ahsan, and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah heard the petition today.
\nAt the onset of the hearing, CJP Bandial said the amendments to the NAB bill were made by an \u201cincomplete\u201d National Assembly (NA). However, he said that there was no law on whether or not an incomplete assembly can legislate.
\n\u201cMore than half of the MNAs had boycotted the assembly as part of a political strategy,\u201d the chief justice recalled.
\nPTI chief\u2019s lawyer Advocate Khawaja Harris said that people will approach the court if the executives do not do their job.
\nAs the hearing continued, Justice Ahsan remarked that amendments to the NAB bill only benefitted those who legislated on it.
\n\u201cAn entire political party functions according to the directions of a few people,\u201d he said. \u201cFollowing the directions only benefits them.\u201d
\n\u201cIn such a situation, should the judiciary watch the spectacle unfold with its hands and feet tied?\u201d the judge asked.
\nJustice Ahsan said that the NAB amendment bill was rushed through without holding a debate. \u201cIf the intention behind the amendment is not right, there is no need to find out anything else.\u201d
\nCJP Bandial said no attempts were made to fix loopholes in the system. \u201cIt is the parliament\u2019s job to legislate and implement laws that fix the system\u2019s loopholes,\u201d he said, adding that the law was not being followed during the executives\u2019 decision-making.
\nHe said the government could not root out corruption in some projects due to the system\u2019s weakness.
\n\u201cMany people\u2019s businesses were shut down due to misuse of the NAB law,\u201d the chief justice said. \u201cThere should be no forgiveness for corruption.\u201d
\nAt one point in the hearing, Justice Shah said \u201ccorruption is wrong and there is no doubt that corruption should not take place\u201d. \u201cThe question is how should corruption be dealt with?\u201d he said.
\nTo this, Advocate Harris replied: \u201cBringing an end to corruption is the executives\u2019 job. The judiciary interferes when the executives can\u2019t do their job.\u201d
\nLater in the hearing, the chief justice said that quite a few facets had also seen improvements in the country. \u201cThe media is also free in Pakistan and brings forth the truth.\u201d
\nAt this, Advocate Harris said: \u201cThe Pakistan media ranks at number 157 out of 180 in world ratings.\u201d
\nJustice Shah remarked that according to corruption rankings, Pakistan was on the same number as it was before the NAB amendment bill.
\n\u201cWhen new rankings are released after the NAB amendment bill has passed, Pakistan will move 100 places down on the corruption index,\u201d Justice Ahsan added.
\nEx-PM Imran\u2019s lawyer told the court that the term \u201cregulatory capture\u201d is used when self-serving legislation is passed.
\nHere, CJP Bandial inquired if the amendments to the NAB law can be termed as \u201cparliamentary capture.\u201d
\nAdvocate Harris told the judge that the term \u201cparliamentary capture\u201d is used in another sense.
\nSubsequently, the hearing was adjourned till Wednesday (December 14).
\nEarlier in July, the federal cabinet passed, the National Accountability (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022, with fresh legislation aiming to restrict the watchdog\u2019s role in corruption cases of over Rs500 million and taking away the president\u2019s authority to appoint accountability court judges.
\nThe joint session of the Parliament on June 10 approved, the National Accountability (Second Amendment) Bill, 2021. The bill was opposed and returned unsigned by President Arif Alvi before it became law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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