A man suspected of fraud was granted relief under the newly amended National Accountability (NAB) Ordinance 2021 on Wednesday when an accountability court in Islamabad forwarded the case to a sessions court, with the remarks that such cases are no longer under its jurisdiction.
The court was hearing a case against the suspect Abdullah and observed that it does not come under an accountability court’s jurisdiction since promulgation of the new NAB Ordinance.
“Such cases will now be dealt with by other courts,” the judge said.
Earlier this week, several people approached accountability courts in Islamabad seeking termination of fraud and other NAB cases. The suspects said that as NAB’s jurisdiction had ended, all cases against them should be dismissed.
Last week, President Arif Alvi promulgated the NAB (Amendment) Ordinance, 2021, under which the NAB Chairman Justice Javed Iqbal will continue to serve the post until a new chairman is appointed and will also be eligible to be renamed as chairman.
Under the new ordinance, the president also has the authority to establish as many accountability courts in the country as he deems fit. Judges to the accountability courts will be appointed for a three-year term, the ordinance states. The NAB law does not extend to federal, provincial and local taxation.
