Govt, Supreme Court and NRO
THE Supreme Court of Pakistan struck down the National Reconciliation Ordinance in 2009 but the federal government, led by the PPP, didn’t implement the apex court judgment regarding the NRO.
On Sept 21 the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of former managing director of Oil and Gas Development Company Adnan A. Khawaja and former head of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) Brig (rtd) Imtiaz Ahmed. Both were convicted but got relief under the NRO in December last year.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has told the law secretary that the Supreme Court’s judgment regarding the NRO must be implemented at any cost. It has further increased the worries of the federal government.
The government is in a tricky situation because if the government starts implementing the Supreme Court judgment on the NRO, the government will have to open cases against their own president. The federal government is in a state of “to be or not to be”.
The people of Pakistan want justice across the board and it is the duty of the government to implement the court rulings. The writ of the state cannot be established unless the government itself abides by court judgments.
The Supreme Court’s NRO judgment is a reflection of the spirit of the public aspiration to uphold the rule of law and the Constitution. The government will have to rethink its previous policy and start implementing the apex court’s order. This is the only way forward.
TAHIR NAZIR
Rawalpindi
Source: Dawn
Date:9/27/2010
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