A Supreme Court decision dating September 15, which declared amendments made to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), has been challenged.
A petition in this regard was submitted in the apex court the other day by senior Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Senator Farooq H Naek, representing a citizen, Abdul Jabbar.
The petitioner said that the verdict directly impacted him since an NAB reference against him is pending.
The petitioner contended that the order was issued without hearing them. He said that after the law's implementation, an anti-corruption court had remanded his case to the anti-corruption department.
After the verdict, the bureau sent the reference to an anti-corruption court.
It added that the September 15 verdict was issued without deliberating on rules that seek to supplant the fundamentals of parliamentary democracy.
The petition further said that the verdict had diminished the power of the Parliament to make laws. In contrast, the Parliament was the forum which created and implemented the original law in 1999. The petitioner argued that it was the Parliament which decides when to make amendments to laws.
The petitioner argued that the amendments did not exclude any crime from punishment but facilitated getting cases to the right officers.
It argued that through its verdict, the apex court attempted to replace the recognized lawmaking body, which was beyond its mandate.
Earlier in the week, Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan stated that the caretaker federal government intends to challenge the verdict issued by outgoing chief justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on his last formal working day in office before his retirement.
Bandial, before leaving the court for the last time, had issued a short order in the case with a detailed order pending nearly a month on.
The former chief justice overturned the amendments made to the law by the Parliament.
Following a short order by the full bench of the apex court restoring the Supreme Court Practice and Procedure Act 2023, all decisions taken by the top court since the promulgation of the act can be challenged.
Serving officers appointed in NAB
Meanwhile, GEO News reported that four senior serving military officers have been deputed to NAB.
A notification issued by the Establishment Division said that the deputation was part of a reshuffle of all civilian, military and other law enforcement personnel.
The notificaition said Brigadier Muhammad Khalid had been appointed as a director, Lt Col Nadeem Muzaffar has been appointed as an additional director, Major Waleed Khalid of the Military Intelligence Corps, along with Major Qais Kamran has been appointed as deputy directors.
Meanwhile, the transfer of Director General Dr Zulfiqar Hussain Awan to Aiwan-e-Sadr was cancelled. He has now been directed to report to the Establishment Division from his post of Director General at Aiwan-e-Sadr.