How can NAB take action against people without rules, asks SHC

The National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) investigation rules will be notified and gazetted within a month, the federal law officer told the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday.

During the hearing of a petition seeking the framing of NAB’s investigation rules in compliance with Section 34 of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), an SHC division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Iqbal Kalhoro asked the federal law officer why NAB’s rules have not been framed yet.

The bench asked how NAB can take action against any person in the absence of investigation rules. The court said the standard operating procedure will be suspended if NAB’s rules are not framed and notified under the law, adding that the accused should also be aware of their rights.

The federal law officer said the framing of the rules has been delayed due to the second amendment in the NAO 1999. He assured the bench that NAB’s investigation rules will be framed, notified and gazetted within a period of one month.

The court said that it expects that the undertaking provided by the federal law officer will be honoured, and directed the law officer to submit a compliance report by March 2. Tariq Mansoor Advocate had said in a petition that NAB’s rules for investigations and inquiries had not been framed despite the promulgation of the NAO in 1999.

The court had earlier been informed that the NAB chairman had drafted the rules as contemplated in Section 34 of the NAO, and forwarded them to the president for his approval and action in accordance with the requirements set in Section 34 of the NAO.