ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) formed a larger bench on Thursday to decide the fate of references returned by accountability courts of the federal capital to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) after amendments ‘curtailed’ the watchdog’s jurisdiction last year.

An IHC division bench, comprising Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, was hearing a petition filed by the Islamabad High Court Bar Association’s (IHCBA) chief against amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO).

Shoaib Shaheen, the IHCBA President, referred to Article 2-A to argue that people had a “right to question their chosen representatives”.

The petition added that since the amendments “deprived” the citizens of their right to question their representatives, it violated the “fundamental right to life, dignity and protection of property, as guaranteed by Articles 9, 14 and 24”.

It pointed out the NAB amendments had “taken away the most serious and bulk of white collar crimes out of the pale of law and made them immune from criminal prosecution”.

Discussing the omission of Section 14 from the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999, which enabled conviction on presumption and had shifted the onus of proof on the accused, the petition said the government had “ensured that it becomes impossible for the prosecution to prove white collar crimes against holders of public offices”.

The petition highlighted that an amendment had changed the scope of offence “misuse of authority” and “is tantamount to denying accountability” as it does not recognise the commission of such offence in cases where illegal benefit to a person is proved, but not [an] exchange of money for such benefit”.

The petition questioned the grant of ‘blanket immunity’ to officials of all regulatory bodies even though these bodies “deal with matters vital to financial interests”.

The IHC decided to club all the petitions related to NAB and to determine the fate of cases pending or returned by accountability courts to NAB for onward transfer to appropriate forums.

After promulgation of the amended NAO, accountability courts of the federal capital sent references to the bureau against several political figures. They included former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, former president Asif Ali Zardari, and former prime ministers Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.

In a related development, the Supreme Court adjourned the hearing on a petition filed by former premier Imran Khan to Feb 21.

Makhdoom Ali Khan, counsel for the federal government, informed the court that 41 high-profile figures were acquitted after the PTI government ‘relaxed’ the accountability law during its stint from 2019 to 2022.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2023