A two-member bench of the apex court on Wednesday proposed to Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to constitute a larger bench to evaluate and ascertain the criterion for extending relief under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). The bench, comprising Justice Mian Shakirullh Jan and Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, proposed to the Chief Justice to constitute larger bench, particularly to examine Section 7 of the ordinance.
"Section 7 of the ordinance says that proceedings against holders of public office under investigation or pending in any court, including a high court and the Supreme Court of Pakistan, initiated by or on a reference by the NAB inside or outside Pakistan before the 12th day of October, 1999 stand withdrawn and terminated with immediate effect." The bench was hearing an appeal filed by former Assistant Director of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Fazal Jutt through advocate Ibrahim Satti.
The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) had filed reference against Fazal on corruption charges in 2005. His appeals, seeking relief under the NRO, had been rejected by the NAB court as well as Sindh High Court. Ibrahim Satti argued that Fazal should also be given relief under the NRO as it had been done in a number of cases. At that, the court suggested the constitution of a larger bench, and noted that all cases related with the NRO should be merged.
On June 2, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed that the Supreme Court could not extend relief to any accused under the NRO till the decision on applications against the ordinance, which are still pending before the court. It is to be noted that on July 31, a 14-member bench, headed by the Chief Justice declared the steps, taken by former president Pervez Musharraf on November 3, 2007 as "unconstitutional."
In addition, the ordinances, promulgated by the president or a governor of a province before November 3,2007 and during November 3 and December 15,2007 (period of imposition of emergency) that include NRO, which were given permanence by the Provisional Constitution Order No 1 of 2007 stand shorn of their purported permanence on account of the declarations.
Though the court declared legislative instruments invalid, it had given them a life of 120 days for consideration of the parliament or the provincial assemblies for validity of the ordinances. Therefore, the fate of the ordinance is yet to be decided as it is left with a life of 108 days.
The NRO was promulgated by former president Pervez Musharraf in October 2007. Among others, President Asif Ali Zardari is also a beneficiary of the NRO as he was facing four cases at the time of its promulgation.
Cases against President Zardari included the artifacts-smuggling case commonly known as the "Container Case", the murder case of Mir Murtaza Bhutto and seven other workers and supporters of PPP-Shaheed Bhutto group, the double-murder case of Justice Nizam Ahmed and his son Nadeem Ahmed and the murder case of former Food Secretary Alam Baloch.
After the promulgation, the ordinance was challenged in the Supreme Court by founding member of the PPP Dr Mubashir Hassan, former bureaucrat Roaedad Khan and advocate Tariq Aziz. The petitioners had adopted the stance that NRO was violative of article 25 of the Constitution, which guaranteed equality for everyone in the eyes of the law.
In addition, the NRO granted "immediate legislative acquittal" to public-office-holders in a discriminatory manner. The petitioners said that the NRO had negated Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution, which disallowed any holder of public office, who were found guilty of corruption or misuse of power, to contest parliamentary elections. The matter is still pending before the court.
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