NRO beneficiaries in Pakistan

Suspense among the NRO beneficiaries in Pakistan
The declaration of all the benefits given under the amnesty-National Reconciliation Ordnance –cases withdrawn, acquittals made-are declared void by Pakistan Supreme Court has thrown the whole Pakistan into a spell of struggle of power between judiciary and government and also between civilian government and military establishment. Of course, president Zaradari was not surprised at the rulings as he was anticipating this turn of events. He showed clear reluctance to reinstate the Supreme Court Judges sacked by president Parvez Musharraf under emergency rule in November 2007 because he knew that the NRO would be challenged at the supreme Court and there was possibility that it would be struck down by the court led by chief justice Chaudhury. But other political parties under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif the whole country raised protest and clamored for reinstating Iftekhar Muhammad Chaudhury as the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Zardari government had to give in to the will of Pakistani people. However, his anticipation has come true most recently. It is good in one sense that the governance of law is supposed to be established in Pakistan and the corrupt people should be away from politics. But the time for Pakistan is already very crucial because of the fighting in the country with the Talibans. The Talibans, Pak military and US military and air attack have brought a boggling situation in Pakistan. Now is the time to overcome the situation through united efforts i.e. all political parties must reach a consensus regarding the Taliban issue and ties with the US. In this juncture, anther blow will force Pakistan into frenzy. Analysts apprehend that Pakistan will see Martial law again. But Prime Minister rules out the possibility of it. They say it is for the first time that the PPP has better ties with the army. The army stands by the government and there is contact with the chief of Army General who maintains that the military will not indulge in the country’s politics.
The Pakistan Supreme Court declared that a 2007 National Reconciliation Ordinance which contained the amnesty was unconstitutional and stuck it down, paving the way for thousand of criminal cases to be revived. In fact, what numerous politicians have failed to understand is the need to put life into the ministry of defense, to build its capacity and civilianize its power or decision-making structure. Since the defense ministry is the only institutional cushion between the political government and the military, its capacity is critical. Politicians in Pakistan fall prey to their insecurity regarding lack of time and miss the point. Now the president can think about extending the deadline for repeating the 17the Amendment to be able to play a role in the extension or appointment of the army chief. That’s his last but temporary lifeline. He could buy some time by giving a cold shoulder to the US but these are temporary mechanisms.
Asma Jahangir , Chairman , Pakistan Human Rights Commission said, the Supreme Court bench comprising 17 judges had announced a big decision which created suspense among the NRO beneficiaries as well as masses as it had not given any right for appeal against the decision. There are some commentators who believe that this represents the strengthening of the system and democracy, that the Supreme Court verdict is a warning for presumption, overly ambitious and corrupt politicians. The decision certainly is a milestone but what does it mean for the overall learning process of the various stakeholders in the country’s power politics? And will it influence the future of Pakistan’s politics? These are two big questions now .No wonder Asif Ali Zardari cooperated in the NRO case and did not really try to hold back information. After all, there are others who were part of the NRO as well, including the MQM. Though the NRO pertained to cases of financial corruption, military dictator Pervez Musharraf had also included the NRO criminal cases that did not technically belong there. It will now be interesting to see if the Supreme Court actually takes the matter to its ultimate conclusions by also questioning those who pushed forward the NRO. Surely, it will take Musharraf and those of his close aides who had cobbled this questionable law together to task. Since the highest court has jumped into the fray of supporting state institutions before they crumble forever, the task should be completed.
“Article 248 of the Constitution (presidential immunity) be declared ultra virus as it is in infringement of the fundamental rights of citizens guaranteed in chapter I of part II of the Constitution, the norms of natural justice as promulgated in Quran and Sunnah, said the petition moved by Khalid Kahwaja, chairman of the Defense of Human Rights Organization. Senior lawyer Naseer Ahmed Chaudhury said that Clause 3 of Article 248 prevented courts from issuing any order for the arrest or imprisonment of the president or the governor during their time in office.Kahlid Khawja who will appear in person to plead his case, contended in his petition that Article 248 in its entirety was against the condition and the norms of Islam that guaranteed equality, dignity and respect for humankind. The protection is also not in consonance with Article 25(equality of citizens) which guarantees equal protection of law to all citizens. It means that the president and the governor are free to commit any crime or rob the public treasury and could even commit high treason, but they would not be answerable to any court or forum during the term of committing crimes like former president Pervez Musharaf. The nation, the petition said was divided on this issue as many people, including members of parliament, were agitating against this protection which should not be available to dignitaries. The Islamic concepts as envisaged by the objective resolution under Article 2-A of the Constitution should prevail to ensure a just political system and an Islamic welfare state.
One cannot undermine the significance of public perception. It is equally important for people to have faith in a judgment system is vital and calls for accountability of all other state institutions as well to strengthen the perception that the decision on the NRO was in good faith and to strengthen the rule of law. The decision does coincide with the growing anger of the security establishment against the civilian government for becoming ‘too big for its boots.
The civil and military tension denotes a third critical attempt by the political class to curtail the military’s power. The first attempt was made by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who inherited a relatively weak army and had ample scope to reduce its relative power. He partly tried to do it through building institutional mechanism such as the Joint Chiefs of Staff committee and the defense ministry and putting all service chiefs under the supermen command of the prime minster. However, he did not put spirit into his reforms an ended up strengthening the military. Nawas Sharif was the second leader to have a similar opportunity. Political analysts and politicians hoped that he could make headway because he belonged to the most powerful ethnic group and had managed to infiltrate the higher rungs of the officer cadre. Probably the reason that the army viewed Nawas Sharif with suspicion was due to his ability to partially and temporarily. The appointment of General Ziauddin Butt as the new army chief replacing General Mussarraf appeared to be accepted by a number of senior army officers. However, Sharif missed the chance because of his final rash moves. Very recently, Asif Zardari also thought of undercutting the phenomenal power of the military by convicting the United States to support the civilian set-up versus the military move. The army was seen in a bad light due to a decade of Musharraf’s rule and people were talking about strengthening political institutions and decreasing the power of the armed forces. But president Zardari seems to have fallen victim to his lack of understanding of the military, its institutional dynamics and the importance of creating internal partnerships and institutional protective barriers to achieve this objective. For instance, he did not realize that the same civil society that protested against the military would stand up to defend the ISI and oppose provisions in the Kerry Lugar bill to defend the military.
Now there are many and hopefully civil society is amongst them who wish to see the matter carried to its desired end-or to as much as an end as possible in country whose policy is riddled with corruption of a supreme order. This decision of the highest court of the land may possibly go someway to start a cleansing of the political system . Corruption is always and everywhere part of politics, but Pakistan has carried it to a height not so often witnessed in this odd world. The Times of London says “Corruption is widespread among Pakistan’s political leaders but the alleged scale of Mr. Zardari’s activities shocked seasoned observers. The president has been accused of accumulating assets worth $1.5 billion around the world through illegal means. “Although Zardari has spent years in jail over corruption charges, he alleges the charges were politically motivated and question hang over whether he was ever actually convicted of any crime. The NRO was passed in Oct 2007 by then president Pervez Mushrraf under pressure to hold elections and end about eight years of military rule. Zardari’s Peoples’ Party went on to win elections in 2008 restoring civilian rule, but the NRO expired at the end of last month and the PPP did not have enough support to renew the ordinance in parliament. Talking to media persons for the first time following the apex court’s verdict , which may force him to step down , Zaradri said he respects the judiciary and that his party, the Pakistan People’ Party would also abide by the decision of the court. Now let us see what decision he is going to take and how he honours the highest court order of the country.

Md. Masum Billah
Senior Manager: BRAC Education Programme, PACE
Phone: 9355253 (res), 01714-091431(cell)
Email: mmbillah2000@yahoo.com