Petition against amends to NAO 1999: Corruption affects fundamental rights, PTI counsel tells SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was told on Tuesday that in a past judgment, it had declared that corruption violated the citizens’ fundamental rights.

A three-member bench of the apex court — headed by Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsen and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah — heard the petition filed by former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan, challenging the amendments made by the coalition government to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999.

Khwaja Haris, counsel for Imran, submitted that corruption greatly affected the fundamental rights of citizens. He said the Supreme Court in different cases filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had held that corruption violated the fundamental rights.

He said the apex court in its judgments also held that if the public office-holders committed corruption in the country’s assets and public money, it would affect the fundamental rights of citizens as enshrined in articles 9, 14, 24 and 25 of the Constitution. Haris further submitted that the apex court in one of its judgments had also held that if the regulatory bodies’ heads were not competent to deal with matters and were held responsible for corruption, it would be a violation of fundamental rights.

He submitted that with the amendments made to the NAO 1999, the regulatory bodies had been excluded from the ambit of NAB law and the now NAB could not deal with the matters involving corruption.

When the NAB law is made so weak under the amendments and it cannot deal with such serious matters, then the fundamental rights of citizens will also be affected at large, the counsel submitted. Haris submitted that the Supreme Court in its judgment in a fake accounts and money laundering case of Rs35 billion earlier, probed by the Federal Investigation Agency, had held that the FIA was not competent to deal with the matter efficiently and referred it to the NAB.

He further submitted that under the amendments made to the NAO 1999, now the anti-graft body could not deal with those cases, which was also a violation of fundamental rights. Addressing the PTI counsel on a lighter note, Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial said he should continue his arguments and the court will not ask him questions on that day.

“We will keep our questions until Thursday,” Justice Ijazul Ahsen, another member of the bench, told the PTI counsel. Later, the court adjourned the hearing till Wednesday (today).