Cases against NRO: Supreme Court puts off hearing on petitioners’ plea

The five-member Supreme Court bench, headed by Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, on Wednesday adjourned hearing on petitions against National Reconciliation Ordinance 2007 at the request of the petitioners.
Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Shehbaz Sharif, Roedad Khan, and Dr Mubashir Hassan have challenged the National Reconciliation Ordinance in the Supreme Court under Article 184 (3) of the Constitution.
Though counsel for the petitioners did not appear before the court, yet they filed applications for adjournment through their representatives. The Attorney-General, Mohammad Qayyum did not oppose the adjournment move.
Briefly addressing the court, the Attorney General submitted that NRO was protected by the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) and it had not expired after four months under Article 89 of the constitution. The Chief Justice observed that Article 270 AAA of the Constitution had validated the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO).
On the request of Roedad Khan, Dr Farooq Hassan, and Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, the court adjourned the hearing till last week of this month. It may be added that President Pervez Musharraf had promulgated National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) on October 5, 2007 to pave the way for Benazir Bhutto and other politicians to come to Pakistan and take part in the general elections. Five identical petitions were filed in the apex court for staying the implementation of the ordinance.