SC orders Zardari, Musharraf to submit asset details in NRO case

The Supreme Court (SC) sought on Wednesday the asset details of former presidents Asif Ali Zardari and General (retd) Pervez Musharraf  in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) case.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar, took up the case regarding recovery of losses Pakistan faced due to the NRO, which was was issued by Musharraf on October 5, 2007.

The NRO granted amnesty to politicians, political workers and bureaucrats, who were accused of corruption, money laundering and terrorism. The NRO, however, was declared unconstitutional by the apex court on December 16, 2009.

During today's hearing, for which former Attorney General Malik Qayyum also appeared, the apex court asked the asset details of Zardari and Musharraf to be submitted. The bench asked the respondents to also submit details of any foreign accounts and offshore companies they owned.

The SC also sought the asset details of Qayyum. The court has given two weeks time to Musharraf to submit his asset details. Zardari submitted his reply to the apex court last week, in which he wrote that no case had ever been proved against him in court, local media reported.

The bench also observed that the respondents should take the bench into confidence of whether they had any offshore accounts. The CJP remarked, "We should create dams and end corruption."

The petition for the recovery of losses Pakistan faced after the NRO was filed by Lawyers Foundation for Justice President Advocate Feroz Shah Gilani back in April .