Amendments to NAB law: Imran files appeal in SC against registrar’s objections

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Monday filed a chamber appeal in the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the objections raised by its Registrar Office to his petition challenging the amendments made to the NAB law.

Last month, Imran had challenged the amendments made to the NAB law, saying that they had the effect of legitimizing certain forms of corruption and creating select islands of unaccountability to exclude some people from the prosecution under the National Accountability Ordinance 1999.

He had prayed to the apex court to declare that the amendments made to the National Accountability (Amendment) Act (XI of) 2022 were ultra vires of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and violated the fundamental rights of the people of Pakistan as guaranteed by Article 9, 14, 19-A, 24 and 25 of the Constitution. He demanded that these amendments be struck off the statute book.

The PTI chairman had submitted that the impugned amendments to the NAO 1999 deprived the citizens of access to the law to effectively question their chosen representatives in case of breach of their duty towards people.

The SC Registrar Office had returned the petition by raising objections to it and questioned which rights of people had been affected due to the impugned amendments made to the NAO 1999. It had been further objected that the petitioner had not approached the right forum in this regard.

In his appeal on Monday, Imran contended that the objections were baseless and unjustified, adding that the Registrar Office had no jurisdiction to determine or decide about the maintainability of the petition.

He submitted that matters related to violation of the Constitution as well as fundamental rights of citizens were raised in the petition. He prayed that the apex court set aside the objections of its Registrar Office and fix the matter for hearing.