President Dr. Arif Alvi returned the National Accountability (Amendment) Bill, 2023, to Parliament on Sunday, citing that previous amendments to the accountability laws were still under review by the Supreme Court (SC). This bill, earlier passed in the Senate without referral to the relevant standing committee, had already been approved by the National Assembly.
The government proposed the legislation in March. It aimed to empower the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman to transfer corruption cases involving sums below Rs500 million to appropriate agencies, authorities, or departments. Furthermore, it would enable the closure of pending inquiries and investigations where no case was deemed valid.
Announcing the bill’s return via Twitter, the President’s Office explained that it was sent back to Parliament under Article 75 of the Constitution. In his reasoning, President Alvi highlighted the ongoing Supreme Court hearing on earlier amendments to the NAB law, which the bill did not address. Consequently, he suggested that further changes to accountability laws should be reevaluated once the pending case is settled.
The National Accountability (Amendment) Bill, 2023 sought to modify several sections of the NAB Ordinance, with the most notable amendments about sections 4 and 6. The amendment to section 4 states that if the chairman believes no case exists against an accused and the investigation should be closed, the matter will be referred to the Court for approval and, if necessary, release the accused from custody. If the chairman thinks there is a prima facie case against an accused under any other law, the matter will be referred to the relevant agency, authority, or department.
An added provision to Section 6 of the NAB Ordinance states that when the NAB chairman’s office becomes vacant, or the chairman is absent or unable to perform their duties, the deputy chairman will act as the NAB chairman. Without a deputy chairperson, the federal government will appoint an acting chairperson from among NAB’s senior officers.
The bill also mentions that the previous amendments to the NAB law in the prior year led to legal complications regarding the transfer of cases from accountability courts to other courts, tribunals, and forums outside the NAB Ordinance’s jurisdiction. Therefore, the bill proposes further amendments to the NAB Ordinance after considering input from the Prosecutor General Accountability and other relevant stakeholders to provide legal coverage for the accountability courts to transfer such cases.
 Bill 2023 to Parliament, citing ongoing Supreme Court review of previous accountability law amendments.){kind=link}