On the last day of his tenure, Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial sent shockwaves through the political circles by striking down the amendments to NAB laws made by the previous coalition government and restoring all corruption cases against politicians and bureaucrats.
Over 2,000 cases will be reopened after the verdict including those against prominent politicians and six former prime ministers – Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz Sharif, Yousaf Raza Gillani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Shaukat Aziz – former president Zardari and other federal ministers.
The verdict has re-empowered NAB to once again lay its hands on political bigwigs after it became toothless due to the amendments. Many of the cases were returned from accountability courts and were shelved. The PDM coalition passed controversial laws under which any graft case of more than Rs500 million would be beyond the scope of NAB’s purview. PTI chairman Imran Khan challenged the laws last year and the chief justice issued the final verdict a day before he doffed his robe.
However, things may not be as easy as it seems. NAB is unlikely to revive cases that have already been disposed of. For now, the decision has breathed new life into a lackluster NAB and work has been started to assess the number of cases to be reopened and referred back to courts. The implementation of the verdict needs to be seen as Justice Qazi Faez Isa assumes role as the top judge next week.
The PTI has hailed the decision and said that Imran Khan has been vindicated as the court brought a halt to ‘NRO 2’ by declaring the NAB amendments as illegal. The PML-N is undeterred and said PTI will instead be the worst affected. Nawaz Sharif, who is expected to return on October 21, is also unfazed by the revival of NAB laws and his return is on schedule. The PPP says it faced NAB cases in the past and will continue to do so.
It needs to be seen if the corruption cases against the political bigwigs will be revived and reach a logical conclusion. NAB has a controversial history as it was used to settle political scores. However, this does not imply that plunder of national wealth can be allowed. It is necessary to empower NAB as an independent institution to ensure across-the-board accountability.
