Five member bench is hearing case, will decide on livestreaming of hearing
RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan Thursday appeared before the Supreme Court via video link in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) amendments case.
A five-member SC larger bench — headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and comprising Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi — is hearing the case.
The hearing in the case is being held on the intra-court appeals filed by the federal and provincial governments against the NAB amendments struck down by the Supreme Court. In the meantime, it remains uncertain whether the hearing will be broadcast live on the SC’s website and YouTube channel until the bench makes a decision on the matter.
The NAB laws case
In 2022, the country’s accountability laws underwent amendments under the government led by the Pakistan Democratic Movement at the time.
The revisions to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999 in 2022 introduced several modifications. These included shortening the term of the NAB chairman and prosecutor general to three years, restricting NAB’s jurisdiction to cases involving amounts exceeding Rs500 million, and transferring all ongoing inquiries, investigations, and trials to the appropriate authorities.
The amendments also resulted in the exclusion of certain top politicians of Pakistan from NAB cases, further shaping the landscape of accountability in the country.
