ISLAMABAD: Acting President Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday signed two ordinances on the advice of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which were promulgated following the approval by the federal cabinet.

Mr Gilani, who assumed the role of acting president after Asif Ali Zar­dari went to Dubai on a private visit, signed the Elec­tions Act (Ame­nd­m­ent) Ordinance 2024 and NAB (Amend­ment) Ordi­nance 2024 into law.

The NAB ordinance ext­ends the remand period of accused from 14 to 40 days. However, the sentence dur­a­tion for the officer convic­ted of framing cases based on ill will has been reduced from five to two years.

Meanwhile, under the Elections Act (Amend­ment) Ordinance 2024, election tribunals will have retired judges as their members, besides serving judges.

This changes the law after amendments made by the previous Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and caretaker set up barred NAB from taking up cases involving an amount less than Rs500 million. Similarly, the period of remand was reduced from 90 days to 14 days.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2024