KARACHI: The National Accountability (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 was challenged on Saturday through petitions filed in the Supreme Court (SC) and the Lahore High Court (LHC).
A petition was filed against the ordinance in the Supreme Court’s Karachi Registry. It said the ordinance was likely to affect the concept of uniform accountability.
The petitioner said the amended ordinance was in contrast with the constitution and basic rights.
NAB and its chairman won’t be able to act independently after the promulgation of the ordinance, the petitioner said. Its approval from the cabinet was also devious.
The federal government, Ministry of Law, NAB chairman and others were made parties in the petition.
A similar petition was filed in the Lahore High Court challenging the ordinance.
The petitioner said, “All citizens are equal in the constitution of Pakistan, the amended ordinance is violation of the constitution and the fundamental rights of citizens”.
The federal cabinet’s approval to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance 2019, is unprincipled and dubious, the petition said. “The amended ordinance has pushed the NAB under the subordination of the scrutiny committee, which will thoroughly affect the utility and importance of the accountability bureau.”
“It is being feared that the ordinance will affect the possibility of an equal accountability of all,” petition said.
“It is cooked up to protect favorite people from accountability cases,” petition claimed.
According to the amended law, the NAB cannot freeze the properties of government employees without court order.
If NAB fails to complete investigation against a suspect within three months, the accused will be entitled to bail, the law said.
The anti-graft watchdog’s jurisdiction over matters relating to imports and levy has been curtailed in the amended law.
As per the new ordinance, NAB will now only be able to proceed in corruption cases of Rs500 million and more.
