NAB seeks to reopen shelved cases

ISLAMABAD: Following a Supreme Court’s (SC) verdict that invalidated amendments made to Pakistan’s accountability law by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has approached accountability courts, requesting to reopen cases involving amounts less than PKR500 million.

According to Dawn.com, the government had previously introduced an amendment that set a minimum monetary jurisdiction of PKR500 million, preventing the NAB from pursuing corruption cases involving sums less than the mentioned amount.

Following the removal of the restriction, the NAB has also written to the Federal Investigation Agency, anti-corruption departments in all provinces, banking courts, and the police, asking them to return cases to the NAB that had been transferred to these agencies due to the earlier amendments restricting the NAB’s jurisdiction.

The SC’s decision effectively reopened approximately 1,800 previously closed cases, although cases that have already been settled or disposed of will not be reopened by the NAB.

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According to a NAB source, the decision to approach all courts and departments was made during a recent meeting chaired by the NAB chairman. As a result of the decision, accountability courts have been contacted to reopen the cases.

As per Dawn, the source mentioned that the NAB headquarters submitted an application to the accountability court registrar in Islamabad for the reopening of these closed cases. Regional NAB offices have also contacted regional accountability courts for the same purpose.

The source estimated that there are approximately 1,600 to 1,800 cases being reopened. However, cases that have already been settled by the NAB and the courts will not be subject to further investigation or action.

The SC’s decision has led to the reopening of cases involving prominent figures, including former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan, Shehbaz Sharif, Yousuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, and Shaukat Aziz.

Meanwhile, other individuals facing reopened cases include former president Asif Ali Zardari, former federal ministers Khawaja Saad Rafiq, Kh Asif, Rana Sanaullah, ex-chief minister Punjab Hamza Shehbaz, Faryal Talpur, Syed Murad Ali Shah, Javed Latif, Akrum Durrani, Saleem Mandviwalla, and others. Former members of the PTI government, including Shaukat Tarin, Pervez Khattak, Amir Mehmood Kiani, and Khusro Bakhtiar, may also be subject to NAB proceedings.

Legal experts have noted that the SC’s decision could potentially be challenged or reviewed by a larger bench, but any challengers would need to present compelling reasons for review. However, the interim government has indicated that it has no plans to challenge the SC’s decision, pending the issuance of a detailed judgment related to the NAB law amendments.