The Supreme Court on Friday suspended certain clauses within the The Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) Rules 2014 which required the provincial ACE to obtain a chief minister's permission before taking action against top-level bureaucrats.

A two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar took up a petition filed by ACE Director General (DG) Hussain Asghar in which he stated that it is mandatory for the body to take permission from the chief minister before initiating proceedings against any high-profile bureaucrat.

"If the chief minister does not give the go ahead, the body cannot even file a first investigation report against a bureaucrat," Asghar said.

The court subsequently suspended Rules 5, 6 and 10 of the ACE rules, in which certain sub-rules pertain to obtaining the chief minister's permission prior to taking action against senior bureaucrats.

The court also ordered that a pending anti-corruption inquiry before the Lahore High Court should be wrapped up within two weeks.