Pakistani Supreme Court starts hearing against amnesty law
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Islamabad, Dec 9, IRNA -- The Pakistani Supreme Court on Wednesday started hearing of cases pertaining to legality of amnesty law under which top political leaders including President Asif Ali Zardari were given amnesty.
The National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) promulgated in October 2007 by former President Pervez Musharraf, is termed as most notorious act of Constitution, as it granted amnesty to politicians, political workers and bureaucrats who were accused of corruption, embezzlement, money-laundering, murder and terrorism between 1st January 1986 and October 12th 1999, the time between the two Martial Laws.
The Law had also allowed former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to end exile as well as withdrawal of corruption charges against her spouse Asif Zardari and others.
The Pakistan government has said that it will not defend the NRO in the Supreme Court and will assist the apex court in reaching an authoritative decision in the case.
A seventeen-member bench of the apex court is hearing the case. Legal experts say the result of the case would have far reaching and widespread effects on the constitutional and political landscape.
Experts term the constitution of the larger bench a step in the right direction in view of the significant implications of the decision on the legality of the ordinance.
The petitions challenge the NRO on the grounds that it violates the fundamental rights of the people, especially Article 25 (equality of citizens).
The legal experts opine that the court will not only decide the fate of the beneficiaries, but also determine the scope and parameters of the constitutional immunity from prosecution for the head of the state.
Major Pakistani opposition party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has urged beneficiaries of the National Reconciliation Ordinance belonging to the ruling Pakistan People’s Party resign and suggested that President Asif Ali Zardari should make a decision considering the country’s current situation.
The law had to be approved by the Parliament but after the criticism from the opposition the government had decided not to table the law.
President Zardari said the PPP respected the stance of its allied parties of not tabling the NRO in parliament. He said the party was determined to protect democracy at any cost and would not let anyone destabilise the current democratic set up.
The Supreme Court, in its July 31st judgment, had made it vital for the government to get the NRO and all other ordinances validated by parliament within four months.
There is some confusion about the actual number of politicians who received relief under the NRO; initial reports put the figure at 34, but it has since emerged that only 282 of the 8,000 beneficiaries were actually named in the list.
People say that it is in the public interest that those guilty of corruption must be convicted and punished as soon as possible.
Constitutional experts believe the NRO had assumed national importance and several issues have arisen because of its promulgation.
Many legal experts have been quoted as saying President Zardari is protected under the immunity he enjoys as the head of state but others say if the NRO is struck down as an invalid and bad law, the benefits of the NRO would also go away no matter who currently enjoys them.
Former prime minister and head of the Pakistan Muslim League-N Mian Nawaz Sharif has termed the NRO as a ‘Black Law’.
Majority in Pakistan says that selective amnesty could never be granted under the law besides the general public, intelligentsia, media and even politicians have raised their concern over the law.
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End News / IRNA / News Code 833426
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