PTI govt's NAB Amendment Ordinance 2019 challenged in SC.

ISLAMABAD -- The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government's National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Ordinance 2019 was challenged in the Supreme Court on Monday.

Petitioner Farrukh Nawaz Bhatti has sought an immediate suspension of the ordinance until the petition is decided.

In his petition, Bhatti questions whether the amendment is in violation of Articles 8, 9, 10(a), 14, 18 and 25, as well as the preamble and Articles 2(a), 3, 4, 5, 37 and 38 of the Constitution.

It also asks if the NAB Amendment Ordinance is 'liable to be struck down and be declared void ab initio being inconsistent with and in derogation of the said articles of the Constitution'.

Terming the amendment 'highly discriminatory,' the petitioner says that it is an attempt to create different classes in the society based on 'have' and 'have nots' on the principles of 'might is right' instead of 'equality and the 'rule of law'.

Bhatti underscores that the amendment divides the concept of corruption into 'slabs' and 'classes' where the definition of what is corrupt for some and not for others is a violation of Article 25 read with Article 3 and 4 of the Constitution.

He...