The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday restored amendments to the anti-graft laws, which were previously struck down in its judgment delivered on September 15, 2023. The reversal followed an appeal by the federal government of Pakistan against the earlier judgment.
In this ruling, the court concluded that the amendments did not infringe on fundamental rights, as had been argued in the petition by former Prime Minister Imran Khan. It emphasized the importance of maintaining the separation of powers, stating that the judiciary must respect the legislature’s authority in law-making unless there is a clear constitutional violation. Justice Athar Minallah, while agreeing with the decision to overturn the earlier ruling, contended that the appeal was not competent under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023. However, he found the appeals by private parties to be valid and upheld them.
The earlier judgment from September 15 had addressed the amendments made through the National Accountability (Amendment) Acts of 2023. These amendments significantly changed the scope of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO), a legal framework enacted in 1999 to combat corruption in Pakistan. Among other changes, the amendments limited NAO’s jurisdiction to cases involving losses of PKR 500 million or more. Critically, the earlier judgment held the petition maintainable, recognizing that these amendments potentially violated the fundamental rights of citizens by undermining accountability for corruption.
Pakistan ranks 133 out of 180 countries in the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International, scoring 29 out of a possible 100 points.