Supreme Court of Pakistan on Friday ruled that no one would take benefit/relief under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) till the court decided its vires (constitutional validity).
The court gave the ruling after preliminary hearing of identical petitions filed by various petitioners questioning the constitutionality, legality and validity of this ordinance and prayed the apex court to throw out the ordinance of being 'discriminatory' and 'ultra vires' of the constitution.
President Musharraf issued this ordinance just a day before his re-election on October 6 after a "deal" reached with PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto. Under the NRO all cases constituted against the 'holders of public offices' from January 1, 1986 to October 12, 1999 stood terminated with immediate effect. The Ordinance also terminated all cases initiated by the government during this period to provide blanket relief to Benazir Bhutto.
A three member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry heard the petitions filed by Former Finance Minister and founding member of PPP, Dr Mubashir Hassan, retired bureaucrat Roedad Khan, Jamaat-i-Islami Amir Qazi Hussain Ahmad, PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif here on Friday.
The petitioners stated that the NRO was a blatant violation of the constitution, discriminatory, unjust, abuse of authority and a corrupt deal being against the fundamental rights of the public. They argued that as the Ordinance provides general amnesty for the 'corrupt' politicians and bureaucrats who had plundered the national wealth, therefore NRO was in fact a punishment to the poor people of Pakistan.
After hearing the counsels of the petitioners, the court said that ordinarily the court did not stay operation of an ordinance but ruled that any action and benefit drawn or intended to be drawn by any of the public office holder under NRO shall be subject to the final decision of the court on the petitions.
The court further ruled that beneficiaries would also not be entitled to claim any protection of a concluded action under sections 6 and 7 under any principle of law if the court decided that this ordinance and its provisions were against the Constitution.
Earlier, during the hearing the CJ observed that prima facie the ordinance seemed to be against the public interest as it had given a blanket cover to those who had committed corruption. CJP said that the court was not against any individual but it had to decide this very important case.
The court appointed former chief justice Lahore High Court Mian Allah Nawaz, former Sindh High Court judge Shaiq Usmani and former Advocate General NWFP Sardar Khan as amicus curiae to assist the court.
The court issued notices to Attorney General, Federal and Provincial governments and National Accountability Bureau and adjourned the hearing for three weeks. Earlier Dr Mubasshir Hassan's counsel Salman Raja argued that the ordinance was against all norms of decency rather a mockery of truth and national reconciliation.
He said under Article 45 of the constitution, the President could only pardon or remit a sentence awarded by a court but he had no authority to suspend or give indemnity on pending cases.
Council for Jamaat-i-Islami Dr Farooq Hasan argued that the ordinance was moved with malafide intent to provide protection to those who had plundered the national wealth.
He contended that the ordinance violates the fundamental rights of the people and against the political justice and also contravenes the United Nations Convention against corruption to which Pakistan was a signatory. The counsel of the petitioners prayed the court to stay the operation of the ordinance but was declined by the court.
After hearing the counsels appeared on behalf of the petitioners, the bench said, all the benefits to be given to various public office holders under clause 6 and 7 of the ordinance would be subjected to the final decision of the apex court.
Political Analysts say though PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto is determined to come to Pakistan after 8 years in self-exile on October 18 after an indemnity deal with President Musharraf yet her legal worries were not over.
President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had advised her to delay her arrival till decision of the court on the President's re-election and now on the NRO.
Talking to newsmen after the Court's ruling Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum said, " With the promulgation of NRO all the cases against Benazir Bhutto had been withdrawn, if she wanted to come back, the cases would not come in her way. " But if the Supreme Court ruled otherwise, then the cases would be revived and the law would take its own course."
Benazir Bhutto's lawyer Farooq Naik was not sure about the affect this ruling but said that the punishments given in absentia had already been declared unlawful by the courts.