Islamabad: The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned that why only elected public office holders were subjected to NAB’s jurisdiction and were the unelected excluded.
A five-judge bench led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa and including Justice Aminuddin Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Athar Minallah, and Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi heard the federal government’s intra-court appeal, challenging the apex court’s verdict, declaring amendments to the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 2002 illegal.
During the hearing, the CJP remarked that excluding unelected individuals from the domain of the NAB law was discriminatory.
Justice Athar Minallah asked why only elected public office holders are subjected to NAB's jurisdiction and were the unelected excluded. He added that the exclusion of unelected individuals from the jurisdiction of the NAB law was discriminatory.
Justice Athar Minallah remarked that no elected representative or relevant minister can make a summary without the approval of the respective Secretary. “If a Secretary writes in the summary that this is against the rules, can the Minister approve it? High-ranking officials should have the courage to deny it.”
Former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan appeared before the court via video link from Adiala Jail.