ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to former presidents retired Gen Pervez Musharraf and Asif Ali Zardari on a petition seeking recovery of huge losses Pakistan had incurred after promulgation of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) 2007.

The notices were issued when a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar took up the petition of Feroz Shah Gilani, president of the Lawyers Foundation for Justice. The petitioner has named Pervez Musharraf, Asif Zardari, former attorney general Malik Mohammad Qayyum and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) as respondents to whom the notices were issued by the court.

In his petition, Mr Gilani has requested the court to order recovery of huge amounts of public money misappropriated and wasted by the respondents through unlawful means already on record in different judgements of the Supreme Court and high court.

Petition seeks recovery of huge losses national exchequer incurred after promulgation of NRO

The petitioner contends that Mr Musharraf subverted the Constitution by declaring emergency followed by the promulgation of the NRO, arbitrarily withdrawing criminal and corruption cases against the politicians, including Mr Zardari, which caused huge financial losses to the national exchequer.

According to the petition, since the Supreme Court in its landmark judgement of Dec 16, 2009 has declared the NRO void ab initio, the respondents are liable to compensate the losses and the damage suffered by the exchequer of debt-ridden Pakistan, including the loss of $60 million stashed in Swiss banks allegedly by Mr Zardari.

Likewise, former attorney general Qayyum wrote a letter to the attorney general for Geneva (Switzerland) withdrawing criminal and civil proceedings against Mr Zardari, but the Supreme Court in its 2009 judgement held that Mr Qayyum had written the letter in his personal capacity, against the Rules of Business, 1973.

The actions of Mr Musharraf and Mr Qayyum by promulgating the NRO caused huge losses amounting to billions of rupees to debt-ridden Pakistan.

Both wilfully violated the oath of office to the detriment of the country in violation of the rule of the law, particularly of Articles 2, 2A, 25, 227 of the Constitution, the petition alleges.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2018