• Performance review of graft watchdog deferred; meeting may now be held after Eid
• Senate committee raises concern over lack of facilities at constitutional court

ISLAMABAD: The absence of the federal law minister and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman led the Senate standing committee on law and justice on Tuesday to defer key agenda items relating to the bureau’s performance, including cases under inquiry, trials, recoveries and investigations over the past five years.

The committee met under the chairmanship of Senator Farooq H. Naek to review matters related to judicial infrastructure, facilities for the legal fraternity and the operational framework of the constitutional court.

At the outset, NAB Deputy Chairman Sohail Nasir informed the Senate committee that due to prior engagements, bureau’s chairman retired Lt Gen Nazir Ahmed would not be able to attend the meeting. As Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar also did not turn up, the agenda item relating to NAB was deferred.

The committee had been scheduled to receive a briefing on the overall working and performance of NAB under the Na­­tional Accountability Ordinance (NAO), 1999, including an overview of case statistics. This included the total number of cases under inquiry, investigation and trial, year-wise and category-wise pendency of cases, and disposal trends during the past five years.

The committee was also to review details of recoveries made during the last five years, cases disposed of along with the percentage of convictions and acquittals, withdrawals and voluntary return or plea bargain statistics, as well as an assessment of pendency and delays.

It was further expected to discuss the average time taken by NAB at the inq­u­i­­ry, investigation and trial stages, major le­­gal, procedural and institutional cau­ses of delay, compliance with timelines prescribed under the NAO, 1999, and any legislative, procedural or administrative measures requiring consideration.

Talking to Dawn, Senator Naek said that the NAB chairman’s briefing was deferred owing to his and the federal law minister’s absence. He added that committee members expressed their dismay and asserted that the NAB chairman’s presence would be necessary.

Mr Naek said the meeting would probably be rescheduled after Eid and, if orders were conveyed to hold meeting online, the prospective huddle would be held on Zoom.

Meanwhile, the committee scrutinised budgetary proposals relating to the Public Sector Development Program­­me (PSDP) for the financial year 2026-27. The law secretary briefed the committee on various ongoing and proposed development projects under the PSDP.

The committee was informed about the construction of a new high court bar complex, designed to provide modern facilities for the legal fraternity. Senator Naek acknowledged the quality of facilities available in the newly constructed complex, while noting that the cafeteria had been developed well.

However, the Senate panel chairman expressed serious concern about the infrastructure and basic facilities at the federal constitutional court, noting that the court currently lacked essential am­­enities required for smooth judicial operations, including a canteen, bar room and adequate washroom facilities. He obser­ved that while attention is often given to the aesthetic aspects of buildings, equal importance must be attached to operational facilities necessary for the effective functioning of judicial institutions.

He pointed out that emphasis should not merely be placed on constructing attractive buildings or installing limited infrastructure such as a single lift, but rather on ensuring the availability of adequate operational facilities.

Senator Naek also drew attention to maintenance issues in the IHC building and observed that although two lifts had been installed in the new building, one of them was non-functional. The law secretary informed the committee that administrative control was handed over to the respective court administration on the completion of a building.

When Senator Kamran Murtaza highlighted the dilapidated condition at the Federal Service Tribunal, the law secretary assu­red that the matter would be taken up with the tribunal registrar.

The body also acknowledged var­­ious archiving and digitisation initiatives being undertaken by the law ministry.

With input from Mansoor Malik in Lahore

Published in Dawn, March 11th, 2026