5,475 in Sindh benefited from NRO: prosecutors asked to provide details of beneficiaries

The Sindh government has directed the District Public Prosecutors (DPPs) to submit the details of beneficiaries of the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) within a week, it is learnt. According to official sources, a meeting of the public prosecutors of all the 28 districts of the province, including five districts of Karachi, was held at the Sindh Assembly building on Tuesday.
It was held under the chairmanship of Law Minister Ayaz Soomro. The secretaries of law and homes departments and law officers of Sindh government attended the meeting. The meeting discussed the overall situation. The public prosecutors were asked to submit complete information of the NRO beneficiaries within seven days, the sources said.
The majority of the NRO beneficiaries are from the five districts of Karachi - East, West, South, Central and Malir. They are said to be the activists of various political parties. A final list based on details from all the districts would be prepared.
The final list will show names of all the beneficiaries with their party affiliation and complete details of cases. The list would be submitted to the federal government before November 28, 2009, the official said. Soon after the promulgation of the Ordinance by then President Pervez Musharraf, a summary was forwarded to the then chief minister for approval.
Later, the district courts with the consultation of public prosecutors reviewed the cases and withdrew them under the cover of the NRO. Sources said the cases withdrawn under NRO would be reopened after November 28, 2009 and the beneficiaries would be required to appear before the courts to seek disposal of their cases.
They said that a total of 5,475 people benefited from the NRO in Sindh alone. They included many politicians, bureaucrats, industrialists and influential personalities who had NAB cases against them. The sources said that their cases would be reopened by the NAB. They said that the list of the NRO beneficiaries was a public property and it would be handed over to print and electronic media as soon as it was finalised.