Supreme Court bench recommends larger bench to review NRO

[Naveed Yaseen]

ISLAMABAD: A two-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday suggested Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry constitute a larger bench to review the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

The bench, consisting of Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan and Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, suggested the review while hearing the plea of former FIA assistant director Fazal Ahmed Jatt, who was seeking relief under the NRO after being booked on corruption charges by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

During the course of the hearing, the bench observed that a larger bench should be constituted to interpret the entire NRO, especially Section 7, which grants relief to corruption cases before 1999. It also observed that review and interpretation of the NRO was necessary to decide all pending cases seeking relief under the ordinance.

Dr Muhammad Asghar Rana, NAB additional prosecutor general, said that under the NRO, relief in such cases could not be granted if the department itself conducts independent inquiry or NAB conducts investigations against the accused, APP reported. The court directed NAB to continue hearing on the reference, however observed that judgement could not be delivered until the apex court’s verdict on the NRO.

The NRO granted general amnesty to all politicians, bureaucrats and bankers from charges related to misdemeanours, misconduct, misuse of power and other forms of corruption between January 1986 and October 1999. masood rehman

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...2009_pg1_5