Pak Supreme Court scraps Ordinance; Zardari in trouble

Islamabad: In a huge blow to President Asif Ali Zardari, a 17-judge bench of Pakistan's Supreme Court has scrapped the controversial National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) which was passed by then President Pervez Musharraf in 2007.

Now that the ordinance has been scrapped, a flood of corruption cases will be reopened against the Pakistan President, including a Swiss graft case involving 60 million dollars. The Pakistan President has nine corruption cases against him.

But while Pakistan's Constitution gives the President indemnity from being tried in court, there will be huge pressure on him to resign. However, his party, the PPP, put on a brave face.

"The PPP has faced challenges in the past and will continue to face them," said a PPP member Faratullah Babar.

The other casualties could be the high profile Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Defence Minister Choudhary Ahmend Mukhtar, and Pakistan's envoys to the US and UK.

Advertisement

There is speculation that if Zardari agrees to clip the powers of President - such as the power to dismiss the elected government - then perhaps the pressure on him to resign will lessen.

The NRO gave amnesty to President Zardari and many other politicians and bureaucrats from corruption charges. The Pakistan Supreme Court's verdict scrapping the NRO could lead to the end of Zardari's political career.

Advertisement

The Pakistan President in a press release on December 9 had said that his party after discussion and debate had taken a political and moral decision in respect of the NRO and was fully prepared to manage the fall out of this decision.

The NRO was an executive order passed by Pervez Musharraf in 2007 that removed all the civil cases against political parties and their leadership. It's biggest beneficiaries were said to be Zardari, his wife Benazir Bhutto and their Pakistan People's Party, that remained in exile till the NRO came into play.

Advertisement

It was believed to have been brokered by the Americans as a way to facilitate the return of Benazir to Pakistan. But with today's verdict, Zardari faces the prospect of losing his job.

Old corruption cases will get reopened against him, which could lead to his impeachment. But there is some talk that if Zardari gives up many of his key powers as President - like the power to sack the elected government - former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party, the Pakistan Muslim League (N), could still let him stay on.

Advertisement

All the cases of corruption shown as terminated against Zardari under the NRO were initiated during the tenure of Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister and former President Farooq Leghari.

The NRO was promulgated on October 5, 2007, and lapsed in October 2009. Petitions to declare it unconstitutional were filed by several people and daily hearings began in December 2008.

Advertisement

The NRO was enacted by Musharraf to woe over the political might of the Pakistan's People's Party, at the time of which provided for the withdrawal of criminal cases registered against holders of public office for political reasons or victimisation between January 1986 and General Musharraf's Oct 12, 1999 coup.