The Lahore High Court was informed by the government that the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 was a valid piece of law and in conformity with the Constitution.
According to a local media report, this was stated before the LHC during the hearing of petitions challenging the existence of the NAB Ordinance 1999 and conviction of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members under the same law.
Opposing the maintainability of the petitions, the federal law officer argued that the Supreme Court had already settled this issue in a case famously known as “Khan Asfandyar Wali & others versus Federation” in 2001.
He said the NAB ordinance could not be struck down in the presence of the Supreme Court’s judgment. He urged the bench to dismiss the petitions for not being maintainable.
The petitioners stated that “the ordinance had been promulgated by military dictator retired Gen Pervez Musharraf under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) No 1 of 1999 as well as Order No 9 of 1999,” adding that “the order No 9 was promulgated only to amend PCO No 1 of 1999 by inserting Section 5A (1) into it to the effect that limitation of 120 days prescribed under Article 89 of the Constitution to any ordinance by the president would not be applicable to the laws made under PCO No 1 of 1999”.
However, the petitioners also said, “Under Article 270-AA of the Constitution through the 18th amendment, the PCO No 1 of 1999 was declared without lawful authority and of no legal effect.”
It was further added that “once the PCO No 1 was declared without lawful authority and of no legal effect, the amendments to it made under order No 9 of 1999 would also stand lapsed and, therefore, the limitation period of 120 days prescribed under Article 89 would be applicable to the NAB ordinance”.