February 23, 2008	Saturday	Safar 15, 1429

KARACHI, Feb 22: No cases have been withdrawn under the National Reconciliation Ordinance 2007, promulgated by President Pervez Musharraf on Oct 5 to give indemnity to certain politicians and political activists.

Experts say the NRO is only a tool in the establishment’s hands to blackmail a set of politicians. Some argue it has expired, others say it is still valid.

The stated aim of the ordinance was to promote national reconciliation, foster mutual trust and confidence among holders of public office, to remove the vestiges of political vendetta and victimization and to give indemnity in cases registered between Jan 1, 1986, and Oct 12, 1999, against political leaders and workers by the federal and provincial governments. The NRO covered the absconding accused, charged for political reasons. The ordinance is applicable to only those cases in which no court has announced a judgment.

Sources in the National Accountability Bureau (Sindh) said that the cases registered against political leaders or workers had not been withdrawn yet by the accountability courts under the NRO. However they said some applications in this regard had been received from politicians and workers.

Officials in anti-corruption courts, anti-terrorism courts, district and sessions courts of Karachi, and Sindh criminal prosecution services said they had nothing to do with the National Reconciliation Ordinance.

The federal and provincial governments have formed review boards to scrutinize the entire record of the cases to determine its merits or otherwise for withdrawal. The review boards constituted by the Sindh government has received many applications from the political leaders and workers in this regard.

The legal fraternity of the city was confused over the current status of the NRO and has given different views about the ordinance.

Karachi Bar Association President Mahmoodul Hasan said the NRO was pending in the Supreme Court and alleged that the government of President Musharraf was blackmailing politicians, including Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader Nawaz Sharif, who are stated to be among the beneficiaries of this ordinance.

Former KBA president Iftikhar Javed Qazi said that an ordinance must be validated by parliament or the issuing authority within 90 days of its issuance. “In the case of the NRO, it was neither validated by the issuing authority nor parliament in the said period, so the ordinace should be considered invalid,” he added.

Shahadat Awan said the NRO was still intact since it was protected under the Provisional Constitution Order and became part of the constitution, adding that there was no need to validate the ordinance by the president or parliament. Only a two-thirds majority of parliament could undo the NRO, he added.

Commenting on question that the ordinance had been challenged in the Supreme Court, Mr Awan said that only those laws could be set aside by court that were conflicted with the constitution or violated fundamental rights.

Nadeem Hashmi said the NRO was against natural justice and its fate should be decided by the judiciary instead of parliament.