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Pakistani court cancels amnesty law

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, Dec 16, IRNA -- Pakistan’s Supreme Court Wednesday cancelled a controversial law which had granted amnesty to President Asif Ali Zardari, several sitting ministers and thousands of politicians and bureaucrats, who were accused of corruption, embezzlement,and terrorism.

But charges were withdrawn against them under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), which was issued by the former President of Pakistan General (retd) Pervez Musharraf on October 5, 2007.

The NRO, termed as most notorious act of Constitution, was challenged in the Supreme Court and a 17-member bench of the apex court in a late night verdict declared the NRO as null and void and described it as contrary to the constitution.

The court ruled that all cases, withdrawn under the NRO, have now been revived and those who had got amnesty will face courts.

In November 2009, Government of Pakistan released the list of the beneficiaries of the National Reconciliation Ordinance on the directives of Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.

State Minister for Law Afzal Sindhu in a news conference here said that a total of 8041 people including 34 politicians, bureaucrats and three ambassadors took benefit from the ordinance.

It has been widely believed that the act was a measure to allow the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to return to Pakistan without any legal consequences due to pending corruption cases. However, Musharraf had claimed that it was necessary to build a reconciliatory theme in the political arena with the removal of such politically motivated cases.

Several prominent personalities who were benefited by NRO included President, Asif Ali Zardari, his father Hakim Ali Zardari, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Minister for Shipping Babar Ghauri, Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Farooq Satatr, Governor Sindh province Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad, Pakistan’s ambassador in the U.S. Hussain Haqqani, former Interior Minister Aftab Ahmad Sherpao, former minister Nawaz Khokhar, former prime minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Pakistan High Commissioner in Britain Siraj Shamsuddin, exiled leader Altaf Hussain and Principal Secretary to the President, Salman Farooqi.