NRO Gets a Slap on the Face in Pakistan!

On the cold eve of 16th December, 2009; supreme courts large bench consisting of 17 members out rightly rejected the National Reconciliation Order (NRO) issued on 5th October, 2007 by then Dictator Pervez Musharraf. The decision did not surprise many, including the incumbent government, who was also a party to the case. A lot has been said and read about the NRO beneficiaries and the reason for NRO but this decision officially puts off NRO and restarts the long list of cases that were hanging in air.

Strange things were said in the court during the proceedings and stranger things were heard. A statement from government’s council, “GHQ and CIA want to derail the democratic set-up” then, hiding the details of assets in United Kingdom and Spain. According to an estimate 70% of the case proceedings were on Swiss -Cases; which showed the seriousness of the allegations that were brushes aside using a duster termed as NRO.

Rehman Malik in the Spotlight

The short decision issued against the Petition No. 76 to 80 of 2007 and others include the following salient points:

1. NRO stands null and void

2. Cases that were pending before NRO shall be restored

3. The Attorney General of Pakistan has no authority to write to the Swiss Courts regarding the ongoing cases than and as a result of which the than Attorney General of Pakistan Malik Muhammad Qayyum’s act to write a letter to the Swiss courts for terminating of the cases stand illegal, unauthorized and unconstitutional

4. There was lack of cooperation and honest assistance on the part of Chairman NAB, Prosecutor General of the NAB and Additional Prosecutor General of NAB; therefore the government shall freshly appoint candidates on the above mentioned posts

5. Monitoring cell will be made; that will either be headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan or by the representative appointed by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, to observe all the cases that were abolished in the NRO, for transparency purposes

6. Secretary of Law Division is directed to increase the number of accountability courts so that NRO cases to be disposed of in a speedy manner

7. The government has also been directed to write to the Swiss courts for the re-opening of the money laundering cases that were previously closed due to NRO

On the political front Khawaja Asif a senior politician and member of Pakistan Muslim League (N), who is also the brother-in-law of the current Senate Chairman Farooq H. Naik, has asked the President Asif Ali Zardari to resign on moral grounds; well unfortunately there is no morals in our politicians; had there been an essence of morals I don’t think we would have ever seen this day when NRO has been slammed and rejected.

It is the power hunger that is showing all over the faces of our politicians and then they argue that this nation does not let democracy blossom in this country. How can we let the money, assets and nation be taken for granted!

The Supreme Court judgment seems to be very fair and square; there seems no judicial activism, no politicizing of the issue and definitely no biased comment. Though a lot of sad faces are to be seen in the PPP camp considering it yet another conspiracy against them; but I fail to understand that when an ordinance like NRO will be issued to favor and bailout a hand group of people then why won’t there be any resentment against it and in fact the hatred for that handpicked beneficiaries will also increase.

PPP also needs to thanks its allies MQM who drew their support on the last moment but on the political and national ground it seems to be a very mature policy because this has not only led to a fair decision but also will help in getting the plundered money back to this country. The country has been made poor by such people who have made money more than the means they have but this nation is not at all poor.

The sad part is that the money earned by the elite has never traveled down whether in the form of bank accounts or spending or through a project which can lead to job creation. Irony of fate is that this plundered money of the country has been kept in foreign accounts; had this money been in the local accounts the economic condition might not have been that strife; had this money been used in some industry the job creation would had been healthy, had this money been used in the power sector there would had been no load shedding and load management plans.

There was a 16th December when this nation was robbed of its part i.e. East Pakistan and then there is a 16th December when a new hope has been given to the country that it might be possible to have all the plundered money back. Morals or no morals; I don’t know how people can live a life of being an NRO beneficiary; is there no self-conscience left among the politicians? And yet every time we vote for them. Two odds make an even; and if one odd is these politicians then the other odd is the nation that vote for them. Some day this nation will rise above these odds and the day that happens we will not be part of developing countries but a developed country.

Related Articles

• Exit Control List (ECL) Inducts NRO Beneficiaries (0)
• Hence 90’s Political Style Is Back In Fashion! (3)
• NRO Beneficiary and Advisor to CM Punjab Saeed Mehdi Resigned (4)
• List of NRO Beneficieries in Pakistan - Zardari, Rehman Malik Tops it (86)
• Shumaila Anjum Rana - The Cyber Thief of PML-N (21)
• Budget 2008-09 - Maximum Relief for Poor? (10)
• Download SC Detailed Judgement on NRO (2)
• Media! You are Next (5)
• Arrest Warrants Issued against Rehman Malik (4)
• Transparency International Pakistan- Highlights (7)
• Pervez Musharaf To Be Arrested On Arrival in Pakistan (1)
• Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif Declared Ineligible for Elections (13)
• Sherry Rehman Motorcade Killed Two Innocent Students in Peshawar (3)
• Sheikh Hasina Wajed’s Awami League Wins Bangladesh Elections (1)
• Indian Point of View On Recent Indo Pak Crises (5)

Share This Article

Hide Sites