Non-implementation of NRO verdict: hearing fixed for first week of January

The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed hearing of the matter relating to non-implementation of its verdict in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) case in the first week of next month. Besides President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani through principal secretaries, 36 others have been asked to explain why SC's December 16, 2009 verdict declaring the NRO unconstitutional was not implemented in letter and in spirit so far.
The SC issued notices to the Attorney General for Pakistan and Prosecutor General National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and its Chairman, provincial governors, chief secretaries, inspectors general police, federal secretaries of interior, law, cabinet, establishment, provincial home secretaries, advocates-general, provincial prosecutors general and others, to file replies by the first week of January explaining why December 16, 2009 verdict declaring the NRO unconstitutional was not yet implemented in letter and in spirit. The notice asked why the NRO decision had not been implemented by the concerned quarters despite stay order against the NRO verdict and dismissal of a review petition on December 8, 2011. The CJP while issuing a fresh order recalled that the apex court on December 16, 2009 had declared the NRO void ab initio and being ultra vires to the Constitution.
The court in its December 16, 2009 verdict had said that all the cases, including those relate to Swiss banks, that were closed under the NRO promulgated by the then President, General Pervez Musharraf, should be restored, which included the Swiss cases too.
The court orders were implemented with regard to thousands of other cases, but a letter for the restoration of Swiss cases relating to President Asif Ali Zardari was not sent to Swiss authorities. A three-member SC bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had previously heard the NRO implementation case.
The hearing resulted in the removal of several top officials who had failed to obey the orders in NRO verdict. They included former NAB Chairman Naveed Ahsan, Prosecutor General Dr Danishwar Malik and Deputy Prosecutor Abdul Baseer Qureshi. On December 8, the court while dismissing government's review petition against the NRO verdict had directed all the concerned authorities to comply with the December 16, 2009 judgement in letter and in spirit without any further loss of time.