Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani has formally challenged the jurisdiction of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the accountability court in the ongoing Toshakhana case against him.
This case also involves President Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
During the hearing at the accountability court, Gilani's lawyer argued that following the restoration of certain amendments, the jurisdiction of both NAB and the accountability court in this matter has effectively ended.
This challenge has brought into question whether the Toshakhana case still falls under NAB's purview.
The court, presided over by Judge Abid Sajjad, has issued a notice to NAB, requesting the bureau to clarify whether the Toshakhana case remains within its jurisdiction. The court has adjourned the hearing until September 26.
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.
