IHC restores 10-year bar for NAB convicts

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court Thursday restored the 10-year disqualification period for graft convicts sentenced by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) under its accountability laws.

The injunction was made by the court’s division bench consisting of Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Justice Saman Rafat Imtiaz, suspending the verdict issued by its single bench. According to the single bench verdict, the disqualification period spanned five years instead of 10.

The decision came during the hearing of a plea filed by NAB against the reduction of the 10-year disqualification of its convict to five years. Senior Special Prosecutor NAB Muhammad Rafi appeared in the IHC, informing it about Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) politician Faiq Ali Jamali’s sentence being upheld by the Supreme Court.

Following the IHC’s injunction, Jamali’s 10-year disqualification has been restored. A day earlier, the PML-N gave the ticket to Jamali for contesting polls for a seat in the Balochistan provincial assembly.

“According to NAB law, the disqualification will be for 10 years,” the prosecutor told the court. NAB, on January 1, approached the IHC in a matter pertaining to permission for persons convicted under the NAB Ordinance to contest the February 8 general elections.

NAB requested the high court to suspend its single bench decision and restore the 10-year disqualification period for the NAB convicts to contest elections. The anti-graft watchdog stated that persons convicted under the NAB law have been referring to the decision of the single bench of the high court for contesting the upcoming elections.

According to NAB, a single bench of the IHC had in June last year reduced the disqualification period of NAB convicts to five years instead of 10 years. The bureau has requested the high court to suspend the impugned decision on the intra-court appeal.