National Reconciliation Ordinance: Case closed, SC dismisses govt’s appeal
Two years after the Supreme Court’s verdict on the National Reconciliation Ordinance, the case has finally concluded.
Upholding its earlier judgment, the Supreme Court said on Friday that the federation’s counsel had failed to make a case and dismissed the government’s review appeal.
However, not only did counsel Babar Awan fail to ‘make a case,’ he failed to reach the venue. The Advocate on Record, Mehmood A Sheikh, told the court that Awan could not attend the proceedings because of some “family commitments,” requesting that the hearing be adjourned.
Annoyed by Awan’s absence, the chief justice said “all judges have families, but the 17-member full court is sitting for five days to hear the federation’s plea.”
The bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, directed the government to implement the verdict in letter and spirit without any further delay.
The court asked Law Secretary Masood Chishti to read out the documents which Babar Awan had created a hue and cry about in Thursday’s hearing. But Chishti requested that the hearing be adjourned so that Awan could read out the documents himself.
“It was your petition, you drafted it and your counsel is absent today. You insisted on presenting these documents, despite the court’s rejection, and you are refusing to read them,” the CJP remarked.
When the court demanded that the secretary read out the documents, he read out one page and refused to read further.
Justice Jawad S Khawaja said: “You may not argue the case, but read the documents. You wanted the court to see them.” However, Chishti kept requesting for an adjournment.
Defying the court’s orders means to go behind bars, the chief justice reminded Chisti, to which he said: “I have gone to jail and the post of federal secretary is not important to me. I am happy being a lawyer.”
Later, the court directed Attorney General of Pakistan (AJP) Maulvi Anwarul Haq to read out all the documents, but they pertained to cases against President Asif Ali Zardari and Benazir Bhutto pending before Swiss courts. The document contained letters of Ehtesab Bureau (the NAB’s forerunner) chief Saifur Rehman and ex-AGP Chaudhry Farooq to the Swiss authorities.
The documents, made public for the first time, had the names of PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, his wife Begum Nusrat Bhutto, Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari.
As the AGP read out the letters, Chishti interrupted and requested the bench to allow him to read the documents, but this time the chief justice snubbed him and asked him to sit down.
“First, you refused to read the documents and now you are saying you want to read them. What is your problem?” said Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, adding, “We did not want the documents to be read out here, but yesterday Mr Babar created a scene.”
He said the court was reluctant to accept the documents only to avoid publicising the names of ‘honorable personalities’, but now they have been made public.
Justice Khwaja asked the AGP how the documents were relevant to the case, while Justice Saqib Nisar said the documents pertained to investigations held between 1997 and 1999, adding that the NRO was issued 10 years after. Justice Nasirul Mulk remarked that the court was not closing the doors of justice but avoiding insult of honorable personalities.
Aitzaz says verdict will not hurt president
Aitzaz Ahsan, former SCBA president and Pakistan Peoples Party member, said President Asif Ali Zardari is exempt from any lawsuit under article 248 of the constitution and ruled out any chances of a rift between the federation and the judiciary over the verdict.
He said the court’s decisions should be accepted and implemented, adding that although implementation of the NRO verdict has been delayed, it is unfair to say that the court’s decision has not been obeyed at all.
Aitzaz added that he was unable to understand why Babar Awan wanted to present the documents in court.
Speaking to journalists outside the court, newly-elected President Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) Yasin Azad said the bar association will support the judiciary in case the orders of the apex court are violated.
(Read: SC judgement on NRO)
Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 2011.
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People should take to the streets if the decision of the court is not implemented.
Right decision and well appreciated. How long will people survive this corrupt to the core NRO government.