ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday overturned a previous ruling that nullified amendments to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws, granting intra-court appeals filed by the federal government and other affected parties.
In its 5-0 ruling pronounced by the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faiz, the Apex Court incorporated an additional note by Justice Athar Minallah, stating that the federal government’s appeal is not maintainable.
However, Justice Athar Minallah also noted that the intra-court appeals of private parties have been accepted for hearing, The Express Tribune reported.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court approved the government’s appeals regarding the NAB amendments and declared the amendments valid.
The Court reinstated the changes made to the NAB laws during the previous PDM-led government.
The ruling also overturned the majority decision by the former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and retired Justice Ijazul Ahsan, which had nullified the amendments.
On September 15, 2023, a three-member SC bench led by the former Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah had nullified the NAB law amendments introduced during the PML-N led coalition government by a majority vote of 2 to 1.
The third member of the bench, Justice Shah, had penned a dissenting note.