Full bench to hear plea against NAB’s legitimacy

The Lahore High Court Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Shamim Khan Thursday constituted a full bench to hear a petition that challenged the legitimacy of the NAB.

Justice Muhammad Qasim Khan will head the three-judge full bench along with Justice Malik Shahzad Ahmad Khan and Justice Asjad Javed Ghural. Justice Qasim Khan hearing the petition as a single bench on September 18 recommended formation of a larger bench and referred the matter to the chief justice. However, he had turned down a plea of the petitioner to restrain NAB chairman ® Justice Javed Iqbal from performing duty and suspend all proceedings pending before the accountability courts until final decision on the petition. The cause list of the full bench will be issued soon. Senior lawyer AK Dogar filed the petition pleading that there was no provision in the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 for the formation of a bureau. He contended that it was stipulated in the ordinance that the NAB chairman shall be appointed by the president in consultation with the leader of the house and the leader of the opposition, but it was not enacted anywhere how the bureau shall be formed.