In Setback For Nawaz, Pak SC Directs Restoration Of Corruption Cases Against Public Officials

In a significant decision, Pakistan’s Supreme Court overturned previous revisions to the country’s anti-graft legislation and reinstated corruption proceedings against public officials, including former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who benefited greatly from the reforms, news agency PTI reported. The Supreme Court was releasing its reserved ruling on imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan‘s case filed last year, which challenged the revisions to accountability legislation imposed by the then-government led by former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Nawaz Sharif’s younger brother.

Nawaz Sharif, 73, is slated to return to Pakistan from London on October 21, bringing his four-year self-exile to an end.

By a 2-1 vote, a three-member bench consisting of Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah delivered a reserved judgement. The majority’s decision was rejected by Justice Shah.

The court decided that measures made by the government led by Shehbaz Sharif, such as limiting the authority of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), the anti-corruption agency, to cases involving more than Rs 500 million, violated the Constitution.

It reinstated corruption charges against public officials.

The court ordered that the cases withdrawn after the NAB’s authority was reduced to probing matters worth less than Rs 500 million be heard in accountability courts.

It also ruled the verdicts issued by the accountability courts null and invalid as a result of the legislative changes, and asked the NAB to transmit the record to the relevant courts within seven days.

Former President Asif Ali Zardari, as well as former Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, Yusuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervez Ashraf, and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, may face varied degrees of repercussions from the reinstatement of the old legislation.

They all benefitted from the new law, which halted the prosecution of people accused of suspected corruption involving less than Rs 500 million.

Following the revisions, the NAB courts remanded hundreds of cases against senior politicians and their family last year.

Nawaz Sharif’s return on October 21, ending his self-exile in London, where the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo has been since 2019, may result in the reinstatement of a Toshakhana case.

In the Toshakhana automobiles case, an accountability court designated him a proclaimed criminal in 2020. Zardari and Gilani have both been charged in the same case.

The NAB accused Nawaz Sharif and Zardari of illegally keeping costly automobiles given to them by various foreign governments and dignitaries rather than depositing them in the Toshakhana. According to the country’s leading anti-corruption authority, Gilani aided Zardari in keeping the vehicles during his stint as PM.

Abbasi might face charges related to the LNG facility, while Ashraf could face charges related to rental power corruption.

However, it is unclear whether the caretaker administration would contest the judgement by pursuing a review in the Supreme Court.

It is too early to speculate on the destiny of the decision if a review is filed because Justice Qazi Faez Isa is expected to take over as the next chief justice on Sunday.

Justice Isa will join the three-member bench once Chief Justice Bandial retires. Given that one of the justices previously disagreed with the decision, it will be fascinating to see how the incoming chief justice views the repealed statute.

Through the National Accountability (2nd Amendment) Act 2022, the coalition government enacted significant revisions to the National Accountability Bureau law of 1999, which Khan challenged in June last year.

The NAB chairman and prosecutor general’s terms were reduced to three years, the anti-graft watchdog’s authority was limited to cases involving more than Rs 500 million, and all ongoing inquiries, investigations, and trials were transferred to the appropriate authorities.

After 53 sessions, the court ended the case on September 5 and reserved its judgement, which was announced just one day before Chief Justice Bandial’s retirement.

Bandial, who was appointed Chief Justice in February 2022, will step down on September 16.

Earlier, Shoaib Shaheen, Khan’s lawyer, stated following the ruling that the revisions to the NAB statutes were determined to be a breach of various provisions of the Constitution.

“The amendments were prepared by the Sharif family’s personal lawyers,” he alleged, adding that the changes were made for the benefit of certain individuals.