NRO review verdict

After nearly a two-year delay, a full bench of the Supreme Court finally has rejected the government's review petition on the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance, saying "no case was made for the review of the (December 16, 2009) judgement; as a result, the review is dismissed." The court has instructed the government to implement the verdict in letter and in spirit, without further delay. This particular instruction has special significance in view of the fact that on an earlier occasion the government had kept dragging its feet on compliance. The sticking point was the court's insistence that the government write a letter to the Swiss authorities to reactivate the money laundering case which, aside from some "honourable personalities", involved President Zardari. The case, it may be recalled, was withdrawn by the Musharraf government as part of the NRO deal. The People's Party government had refused to act, citing the president's immunity under Article 248 of the Constitution. All eyes are now turned to Islamabad to see if its response would be different this time around. As various legal experts have been pointing out, the government has no choice but to comply. There are no two opinions on that the President enjoys immunity from prosecution as long as he remains in office, but the investigation process cannot be blocked. Hence, it is argued that the letter must go out. It is for the Swiss authorities though to decide whether or not they can reopen the case. It is possible that they might not want to do that at this point in time due to the sovereign immunity law. The writing of the letter, therefore, may do no harm to the president's case - at least not as long as he occupies the present office. Unfortunately, initial reports suggest that the government might be heading towards a collision course with the judiciary. According to reports, President Zardari chaired a meeting of his party's core committee on Friday night to discuss the future plan of action. Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar has been quoted as having said that "the meeting decided to step up consultative process with political forces and coalition partners to overcome the challenges facing the country." In simple words that means instead of complying with the court order, the government would resort to a political response that may turn the issue into a government versus the judiciary conflict. The government is peeved and has made no bones about it at what they term as selective justice; arguing that cases against Nawaz Sharif in the court lie unattended while cases against them are being selected for hearing. Apparently, the President's advisers are suggesting adopting a strategy that may lead to a confrontation. The thinking seems to be to not comply with the court verdict and use the ensuing confrontation to create a martyrdom image for the government. Whatever the outcome, it is bound to create an aura of uncertainty and nervousness. Coming as it does in the wake of the momentous memo scandal, any fight between state institutions is likely to cause harm rather than good to the democratic process in general and the government in particular. Copyright Business Recorder, 2011