The Supreme Court has sought records of 23 years of high-profile corruption cases

Islamabad: The Supreme Court has sought records of high-profile corruption cases of the last 23 years in the case against the amendments in the NAB law.

According to Express News, a 3-member special bench headed by Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial of the Supreme Court held a hearing on Tehreek-e-Insaf’s petition against the recent amendments in the NAB law, in which lawyer Khawaja Haris gave arguments on behalf of PTI. He said that the change in NAB law has made the definition of benamidar very difficult.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah remarked on which constitutional provision to declare the NAB law null and void, to which the lawyer replied that this is a case of involvement of important political leaders in corruption. Where public money is concerned, that matter falls under the category of fundamental rights. There was also the issue of benami in fake bank account cases. Economic policies should be such that fundamental rights are not affected.

Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandial remarked during the hearing that it is not the job of the Supreme Court to look into economic policies. If someone has been charged with a crime, the law has a fully transparent trial procedure.

The Chief Justice remarked during the hearing that the economy is a matter of policy in which the court cannot interfere. Protection of public assets is the responsibility of the state. The country has been badly affected due to excessive borrowing. Due to misuse of loans, this situation of the country came to be.

The Chief Justice remarked that most of the unnecessary expenditure was on luxury of the elite class. 70 to 80 percent of people in the country are living below the poverty line. The court cannot stop the government from borrowing. Making decisions regarding the economy is the work of experts.

Lawyer Khawaja Haris said that I take back the words of economic policy.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah inquired that first tell us which fundamental right has been violated through NAB amendments. Suppose Parliament has set a limit that if there is so much corruption then NAB will see it. The question is, how have the rights of a common citizen been affected? The PTI lawyer replied that the NAB law is benefiting the pending cases.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah inquired whether there is any such judicial precedent where the court has restored the previous law on the request of the citizen. How can the court annul the law made by the Parliament on the request of the citizen? The lawyer replied that the court can invalidate the legislation on the issue of public money. It is a violation of fundamental rights to corrupt people’s money.

Later, the court asked for a record of how many corruption cases there are so far, in which the sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court. How many references have been completed under the NAB law so far? How many investigations have been completed after the change in the NAB law? The court adjourned the hearing till tomorrow, asking for the records of all high profile cases from NAB from 1999 to June 2022.