Supreme Court vacates stay against NRO

The Supreme Court on Wednesday vacated its stay order against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) and allowed the competent courts and officers to hear and decide the cases before them. Under NRO termination is allowed of all court cases and investigations against persons including members of National Assembly and Senate who had held public offices till October 1999. President Musharraf had promulgated the NRO on October 4, 2007 after protracted power sharing negotiations with Pakistan People’s Party Chairperson Benazir Bhutto. It paved the way for Benazir to come back from self-exile and take part in the general elections. However, five prominent personalities–Dr Mubashir Hassan, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Roedad Khan, Shahbaz Sharif and Tariq Assad–challenged validity and legality of the NRO in the Supreme Court. The petitioners argued that the acquittal of a person through withdrawal of pending cases, especially those in which conviction has occurred, by means of a legislative instrument, amounts to an unconstitutional interference with the judicial function and was a violation of the principles of independence of the judiciary as well as separation of powers enshrined in the constitution. A four-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, had heard these petitions on October 12, 2007 and stayed implementation on the NRO and held that any benefit drawn by any public office holder under this law would be subject to the final decision of the court. A five-member bench of the apex Court, headed by Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, took up these petitions and the stay order on Wednesday. Petitioners Dr Mubashir Hassan and Roedad Khan requested the court to adjourn the hearing as their lawyers could not attend the court on medical grounds.
Attorney General Malik Muhammad Qayyum submitted that NRO is now a permanent law as it is protected by the Revival of the Constitution Order. Before adjourning the hearing for an indefinite period, the court vacated the stay order of October 12, 2007 and directed all courts and concern officials to act according to the law laid down in the NRO. The court dismissed the petitions of Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Mian Shehbaz Sharif and Tariq Assad as they did not appear in the court.