A five member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan reversed an earlier decision against amendments to the National Accountability Bureau laws, declaring the amendments acceptable. The bench had reserved its verdict on June 6.
The judgment was given by a majority of 5-0 by a bench headed by Justice Qazi Faez Isa with Justice Athar Minallah writing an additional note as well.
The federal and provincial governments had filed intra-court appeals against the declaration of the NAB amendments as unconstitutional. The Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on the federal government’s appeal on June 6th.
However, the court had previously declared the amendments null and void in a 2-1 majority decision on an appeal filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.
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A five-judge larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, had heard the petition filed by Imran Khan against the NAB amendments. The bench also included Justices Aminuddin Khan, Jamal Mandokhail, Athar Minallah, and Hasan Azhar Rizvi.
The NAB amendments were passed during the tenure of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government. The amendments had modified sections 2, 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 21, 23, 25, and 26 of the NAB laws.
