The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has transferred 161 high-profile cases to the Anti-Corruption Department following recent amendments being upheld by the Supreme Court.
The transferred cases include those involving officers from key departments such as the Karachi Development Authority (KDA), Malir Development Authority (MDA), Board of Revenue, Department of Agriculture, Irrigation Department, Works and Services Department, School Education Department, and the Excise Department.
Additionally, officers from the Public Health Engineering Department, Health Department, Local Government Department, Sindh Solid Waste Management Board, and Sindh Building Control Authority are also implicated.
Also Read: Imran Khan seeks relief in £190m case after SC verdict on NAB law
With this transfer, the Anti-Corruption Department will now take over the investigations of these high-profile cases. This development follows the Supreme Court’s decision to restore the NAB amendments, prompting the bureau to relinquish these cases to the relevant provincial authorities.
The Anti-Corruption Department has already initiated its process by calling for records from the relevant departments. Notices are expected to be issued soon to the officers involved in these cases.
On September 7, former prime minister Imran Khan also sought relief in the 190-million-pounds case following recent amendments to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) laws upheld by the Supreme Court. This marks the first petition for acquittal filed by the PTI founder through his legal team.
Also Read: SC restores NAB amendments, accepts govt intra-court appeal
The petition was submitted in response to the NAB reference, which pertains to allegations of financial misconduct.
On September 6, the Supreme Court restored the amendments to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law, approving the federal government's intra-court appeal against the nullification of the amendments. The verdict, delivered by a five-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, overturned the prior decision of a two-member bench that had invalidated the amendments.
The court ruled unanimously, with chief justice Isa delivering the verdict. The Supreme Court stated that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Founder Imran Khan failed to prove that the amendments to the NAB ordinance were unconstitutional, declaring that constitutional institutions should respect each other's mandates.
"The chief justice and Supreme Court judges are not the gatekeepers of parliament," the judgement noted.