Pakistani Supreme Court declares NRO (amnesty ruling) null and void -Orders govt to reopen Swiss cases against Zardari

The Supreme Court of Pakistan while terming National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), unconstitutional has declared it null and void.

A 17-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, in his short order, declared the ordinance as unconstitutional and illegal.

According to the judgment, the NRO is contrary to the equality guaranteed by the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan. Similarly, all the cases, disposed off because of the controversial ordinance, now stand revived as of Oct 5, 2007 position, said the judgment.

In addition, the court has ordered the government that it should immediately reopen the Swiss cases concerning President Asif Ali Zardari.

The court summoned the summary file of directives issued for the elimination Swiss cases when the hearing resumed on Wednesday. On the excuse of acting attorney general, the court summoned principal secretary and secretary law. Secretary law while presenting the file in the court said attorney general wrote the letter for withdrawal of cases on the directives of Asif Zardari’s lawyer Farooq H Naek that was opposed by the than law minister Zahid Hamid.

Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry said to care taker Attorney General to produce the original file of the Swiss cases. The care taker Attorney General responded that the government has no availability of the original file of the Swiss cases.

Justice Javed Iqbal made remarks on the reply of care taker Attorney General that this is not the time when the things are being hidden and not being produced before the courts as was done in the past. The principal secretary of Presidential House explained in the Supreme Court that there is no original file of Swiss cases in the Presidential House. Chief Justice said on the reply of principal secretary of Presidential House that if there is no original file of Swiss cases in the Presidential House then it means that Presidential House has given the unconstitutional instructions. The principal secretary of Presidential House Salman farooqi said that the file regarding the Swiss cases belongs to the personal section which is being dealt by military secretary.

In his remarks, chief justice said how assembly could declare corruption as legal.

NRO beneficiaries include 34 politicians:

The National Reconciliation Order's (NRO) beneficiaries include 34 politicians, Federal State Minister for Law Mohammad Afzal Sindhu told media.

The list also includes the major politicians of the country including Pakistan People's Party leader President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari and Mutahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader Altaf Hussain. There were 248 beneficiaries include politicians, bureaucrats and three ambassadors, he added. The NRO beneficiaries include President Asif Ali Zardari, Begum Nusrat Bhutto, Rehman Malik, Chaudhry Shaukat Ali, haji Kabeer Ahmed, Jahangir badar, Malik Mushtaq Awan, rana Nazeer Ahmed, mian Mohammad Rasheed, Tariq Anees, Chaudhy Abdul Hameed, Mian Tariq Mehmood, Haji Mohammad NawazAnwar Saifullah Khan, Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Sardar Masood Leghari, Agha Siraj Durrani, ftab Ahmed Sherpao, Ghani-ur-Rehman, Haji Gul Sher Khan, Habibullah Kundi, Mirbaz Khan Khatran, Farooq Sattar, Babar Ghuri, Ishrat-ul-Ibad, Noman Sehgal, imran farooq, Shoaib Bokhari, waseem Akhtar, Saleem Shehzad, Qamar Khalid Younis and Safdar Bakri. There are seven cases on President Asif Ali Zardari and 72 cases on MQM leader Altaf hussain, he added.

Meanwhile the leaders of opposition political parties including PML-N, JI have the dresiginition of President Zardari and those ministers who are beneficiaries of NRO.

They said all the NRO beneficiaries must resign from their posts including President Zardari.

The NRO-- amnesty decree—was introduced by former president Pervez Musharraf, would in 2007 which gave presidential immunity to Zardari and protect him from prosecution.

Musharraf introduced the amnesty that protected about 8,000 people, including politicians and civil servants, as part of a power-sharing deal brokered with Zardari's late wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, with U.S. and British encouragement.

- Asian Tribune -