ISLAMABAD: In accordance with its accountability rules, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) sentenced graft convicts to ten years of disqualification, which the Islamabad High Court reinstated on Thursday.
The division bench of the court, which is made up of Justices Mohsin Akhtar Kayani and Saman Rafat Imtiaz, granted the injunction to stay the single bench’s decision.
The single bench ruling stated that the disqualification period was five years rather than ten.
The decision was made today at the hearing of a plea submitted by NAB in opposition to the 10-year convict’s disqualification being reduced to five years.
The Supreme Court affirmed the sentence of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Faiq Ali Jamali, according to Senior Special Prosecutor NAB Muhammad Rafi, who made an appearance at the IHC.
After the injunction issued by the IHC, Jamali’s 10-year disqualification has been reinstated.
Jamali received the ticket to run for a seat in the Balochistan provincial parliament from the PML-N one day prior.
The prosecution informed the court that the disqualification will last for ten years in accordance with NAB law.
On January 1, NAB filed a request with the IHC regarding authorization for individuals found guilty under the NAB Ordinance to run in the general elections on February 8.
The NAB asked the supreme court to revoke the single bench ruling and reinstate the 10-year statute of limitations that barred NAB offenders from running for office.
The anti-graft agency claimed that those found guilty under the NAB law have been using the high court’s single bench ruling as justification to run in the next elections.
NAB claims that in June of last year, a single bench of the IHC lowered the 10-year disqualification period for NAB offenders to five years.
In the intra-court appeal, the bureau has asked the top court to put the contested decision on hold.
