A three-member bench headed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan is conducting a hearing in the Supreme Court on the request of Chairman PTI against NAB amendments. Ejazul Hassan and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah are part of the bench.
During the hearing of Chairman PTI’s petition against the NAB amendments in the Supreme Court, Justice Ijazul Hassan has remarked that the Swiss cases against former President Asif Zardari ended due to expiry, not on lack of evidence. Directing to finish the arguments by 12:00 pm, he said that we have to finish the case today.
A 3-member special bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Umar Atta Bandyal is hearing Imran Khan’s petition against the NAB amendments. The other 2 members of the bench include Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Mansoor Ali Shah. Chairman PTI’s lawyer Khawaja Haris is giving arguments.
The Chief Justice inquired from him that if he is allowed, may I ask Makhdoom Ali Khan (Federal Advocate) one thing, yesterday we saw another thing in the amendment law. The status of evidence obtained under MLA has been abolished, now NAB will have to take services there itself which will be expensive.
He said that apart from the MLA, there have been reports of properties from abroad, the evidence obtained from this source is not acceptable in law.
NAB submitted a report to the Supreme Court regarding the return of references after the amendments.
The Chief Justice said that the records obtained by the FBI from abroad cannot be presented as admissible evidence. Are the rights of the complainant listed in the Constitution of Pakistan?
Federal lawyer Makhdoom Ali Khan said that the constitution only mentions the rights of the accused and fair trial, the constitution of Pakistan does not talk about the rights of the complainant. It was said here yesterday that NAB investigations cost billions of rupees, even after doing so much, the conviction rate in NAB cases was less than 50%.
The Chief Justice remarked that even in our criminal justice system, the conviction rate is less than 70%, many of these cases are settled among themselves. We are seeing this data which is a matter of concern, 30 to 40 percent of people do not get justice in murder cases when the main function of the state is to give justice to people.
The lawyer said that many victims refuse to identify the accused in court. Victims are not sure whether they will be safe after identifying the accused or not.
The Chief Justice remarked that after the NAB amendments, evidence obtained through international legal cooperation was no longer admissible. This Prokel said that FBR receives details of assets from foreign countries.
The Chief Justice remarked that the information collected by the FBR cannot be used as evidence.
Makhdoom Ali Khan said that NAB has to prove the material recovered from the accused, it is NAB’s responsibility to prove the evidence brought from abroad. is Courts judge the evidence legally. The Swiss courts did not accept the evidence of their country against Asif Zardari.
Justice Ijazul Hassan remarked that the Swiss cases were overdue and not due to lack of evidence.
Legal assistance from abroad is not very important
The lawyer of the federation said that no one knows under which law the attorney general asked for assistance from the Swiss authorities.
Chairman PTI’s lawyer Khawaja Haris, while starting the arguments on the reply, said that evidence is taken from foreign countries through mutual legal cooperation.
The Chief Justice inquired that what is the legal status of the evidence obtained from foreign countries and how much scope is there for legal assistance? The lawyer said that there is a whole process of verification of evidence abroad by the Foreign Office. Legal assistance received from abroad was not given much importance.
We don’t have much time, we have to finish the case today
The Chief Justice remarked that return of NAB references before May 2023 is a serious matter, we have a list based on the details regarding the return of NAB references. The thing is that we have to finish the case today, we have until 12:30 today because it’s Friday.
He directed Imran Khan’s lawyer Khawaja Haris to complete the arguments by 12:30.
The Additional Attorney General told the court that the Attorney General has said that he will take some time on Monday. On this, Justice Ejazul Hassan said that there is no time till Monday, give the submissions in writing, we will see.
The Chief Justice said that recently in the NAB case from Sindh, the accused agreed to plea bargain, but NAB increased the plea bargain amount when the accused agreed, which is a ridiculous practice. The complainant also needs to be taken care of. Which provision of law states that the scales of justice must be balanced?
Justice Mansoor Ali Shah remarked that the criminal law says that, ‘the accused is the favorite child of the law’, if one’s fundamental rights are affected, he will come to court.
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