Supreme Court upholds NAB amendments, rejects Imran Khan’s appeal

The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday approved the intra-court appeal, upholding amendments in the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO).

A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa announced the 5-0 majority verdict and remarked that respondent former Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and other parties failed to prove NAO amendments unconstitutional.

The apex court noted that the CJP and other judges “cannot be the gatekeepers of the parliament.”

A larger apex court bench stressed, “whenever possible, the Supreme Court should strive to maintain legislation” enacted by the parliament.

In 2022, the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) led government made several amendments to NAO’s laws, including limiting the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) jurisdiction to investigate over Rs 500 million cases and restricting the tenure of the NAB chairman to three years.

Imran Khan then moved the apex court, calling the amendments “legitimise corruption.”

In September 2023, a Supreme Court bench led by the then CJP Umar Ata Bandial, ruled 2-1 to restore corruption cases, declaring Khan’s plea legitimate, which the provincials and federal government challenged.