National Accountability Ordinance not amended or repealed, LHC issues detailed judgement

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday issued the detailed judgement against a petition challenging the legal standing of the National Accountability Ordinance (NAO) 1999 and the conviction of Sharif family under the NAO.

Earlier this month, the LHC had ruled that after the promulgation of the 18th Amendment the NAO 1999 still holds legal force.

In its detailed judgement, the LHC bench dismissed the notion that the NAO had been declared void following the 18th Amendment and thus could not be used against the Sharif family.

In the 24-page judgement, the court elaborated on its September 1 short order and said that the NAO had not been amended and would only have been considered void had an amendment been made to it.

Senior lawyer AK Dogar of the Lawyers Foundation for Justice and others had filed the petition assailing the conviction of the Sharif family under the NAO.

During the hearing, in his rebuttal to the arguments of the federal government and the NAB, Advocate Dogar had argued that the impugned ordinance was a creation under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) promulgated by retired Gen Pervez Musharraf.

He had said the PCO had been amended three times, however, the 18th amendment declared it null and void.

The lawyer had pointed out that the 18th Amendment Act 2010 had declared all acts and laws made by dictator as without lawful authority. He said the Supreme Court also in its 2009 judgment declared the PCO of Musharraf void ab initio meaning thereby the NAO stood repealed since 2000.

He had said there would be no vacuum, if the court declared the NAO as non-existent, as Eihtesab Act 1997 would stand reinstated. It was repealed under section 35 of the impugned ordinance.

Source: Dawn News