The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Tuesday submitted in the Supreme Court the list of the NRO beneficiaries, which showed President Asif Ali Zardari possessing assets worth $1.5 billion (Rs 120 billion) abroad and worth Rs 24.14 billion in the country.
Deputy Prosecutor General Abdul Baseer Qureshi presented the list of 248 NRO beneficiaries before the full court, hearing the petitions challenging the infamous ordinance, promulgated in 2007 giving legal cover to the corruption of politicians and bureaucrats
A 17-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, had directed the NAB the other day to submit authentic details of the NRO beneficiaries. According to the list, there are at least seven abolished references against President Zardari. The list indicates that the assets of President Asif Ali Zardari in foreign countries stand at $1.5 billion, including houses and bank accounts in Spain, France, the US and Britain while his assets in the country stand at Rs 24.14 billion.
In the list, President Zardari's assets worth Rs 22 billion were mentioned as beyond means and the cases in this regard were withdrawn by the Accountability Court on March 5, 2008, under the controversial NRO.
Similarly, cases of corruption of Rs 268.3 million regarding the purchase of Ursus Tractors (Awami Scheme) and illegal construction of the polo ground at the PM House at the cost of Rs 52.297 million were terminated under the NRO in March 2008.Likewise, the list also includes allegedly causing loss of Rs 1.822 billion to the national exchequer by President Zardari by granting licence to the ARY Gold. The said case was also terminated under the NRO ordinance.
The NAB deputy prosecutor general told the court that information regarding the misuse of authority in affairs of SGS PSI Company by Asif Ali Zardari as well as illegal award of contract to Cotecna for pre-shipment was being collected.
The NAB list included names of Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Pakistan's Ambassador to United States Hussain Haqqani, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, former NWFP chief minister Aftab Sherpao Khan, ex MNAs Nawab Yousaf Talpur, Anwar Saifullah Khan, Sardar Mansoor Leghari, Haji Nawaz Khokhar, Pir Mukarramul Haq, Brig (retd) Imtiaz, Usman Farooqi, Salman Farooqi, former president Habib Bank Younus Dalmia, Mirbaz Khetran and many others.
He submitted that the National Assembly's standing committee approved the NRO, however, the concerned minister took it back from the assembly. During the proceedings, advocates general of the Punjab, the NWFP and Balochistan informed the court that under Section 2-A of NRO, no review boards were constituted in their respective provinces to decide the murder cases.
Advocate General Sindh Yousaf Leghari, however, informed the court that 8,000 cases were dropped under the NRO in Sindh, of which 3,000 were murder cases. He sought time to provide details of the cases decided under Section 2-A of the NRO in Sindh. The court directed the AG Sindh to submit report before the court today (Wednesday).
Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, counsel for Dr Mubashar Hassan, submitted the ordinance as whole was void because it was a fraud ordinance as it violated many substantial provisions of the Constitution.
He submitted that reconciliation meant reconciliation between husband and wife, between parents but this National Reconciliation Ordinance had trampled the rights of the entire nation. Pirzada contended that all stakeholders were not taken into confidence before its promulgation. "The nation is threatened with fragmentation," Pirzada maintained.
At this, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said the 1973 Constitution was drafted with consensus. He further contended that the ordinance was void, ab-initio, as it violated the ruling of this court in Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Syed Zafar Ali Shah case that ruled that parliament could not alter the basic features of the Constitution.
"If parliament does not have such power, how can an individual," Pirzada said, requesting the court to strike down the ordinance. Pirzada submitted that the ordinance had undone Article 62 and 63 of the Constitution, adding the condition put under Article 63 1-P for disqualification of a candidate had been obliterated by the NRO. The learned counsel requested the court to strike down the ordinance as it had usurped the judicial power.
Pirzada was still on his feet when the court adjourned the hearing for today (Wednesday). The court also restored a 'dismissed due to non-prosecution' petition of Tariq Asad, advocate, on the NRO and accepted it for hearing.
Earlier, Salman Akram Raja, counsel for Dr Mubashir Hassan, while resuming his arguments submitted before the court that the administration was given judicial authority under the NRO, which was in violation of various Supreme Court decisions. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed that the accused were declared innocent under the NRO so that they could contest elections but dropping cases didn't mean they were pardoned completely.
Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday observed that judges were the guardians of people's rights. "If somebody's son is a murderer, the rights of his relatives cannot be abolished," Justice Ramday said.
Justice Muhammad Sair Ali in his remarks termed the ordinance a 'washing machine' and 'injustice' to the bereaved families of those killed. On a court query whether the situation would move to the position of October 4, 2007, if the NRO was declared void, Salman Raja replied in the affirmative.
Other members of the bench include Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan, Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Tassadduq Hussain Jillani, Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Rahmat Husain Jafferi, Justice Tariq Parvez and Justice Ghulam Rabbani.
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