SC decision to strike down NRO legal: Qayyum

Says his writing letter was also legal as NRO was law at the time.

LAHORE:

The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) is legal, former attorney general of Pakistan Malik Qayyum said on Wednesday.

Qayyum, whose letter was a central topic in the NRO implementation case, said that the government’s compliance with the decision by writing a letter to the Swiss authorities is also constitutional. After casting his vote for the SCBA elections, Qayyum said he accepted the decision and considered it in accordance with the law.

According to the former attorney general, his letter to Swiss authorities to close cases against President Asif Ali Zardari was also legal, since the NRO was a law at that time.

Qayyum said he would appear before the apex court whenever he was summoned. He rejected speculations that he had been ‘in exile’, saying he had merely gone abroad for medical treatment.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2012.