ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court to resume hearing on former prime minister Imran Khan’s petition against the amendments in the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) from January 10.

PTI chief counsel Khawaja Haris on December 14 last year concluded his arguments on the petition. From the next date Makhdoom Ali Khan, who is representing the federation, will advance his arguments.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, and comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah which has been hearing the case since July 2022 has not suspended the operation of the National Accountability (Amendment) Act (XI of) 2022 or passed an order that the benefit accrued through the Act should not allowed.

The PTI chief had filed the petition on June 25, 2022, under Article 184(3) of the Constitution through Khawaja Haris challenging the amendments brought in the NAO, 1999 through the National Accountability (Amendment) Act (XI of) 2022, and cited the federation and the NAB as respondents.

The petition stated; “By virtue of the impugned amendments, not only all the cases of the category mentioned in Section 4(2)(b) of the NAO, 1999, pending trial against, inter alia the ministers, chief ministers, prime ministers, and a president stand virtually terminated.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023