Supreme Court dismisses Pakistan Govt's review petition in NRO

This is what happens when you hire someone like Dr. Babar Awan to plead your case.

PTI | 01:11 PM,Nov 25,2011

From Rezaul H Laskar Islamabad, Nov 25 (PTI) Pakistan's Supreme Court today rejected a government petition seeking a review of its order that struck down a controversial graft amnesty for politicians, setting the stage for possible reopening of corruption cases against top leaders like President Asif Ali Zardari. A 17-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry dismissed the government's petition which had sought a review of its December 2009 ruling declaring as unconstitutional the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) passed by former President Pervez Musharraf granting amnesty to politicians accused of corruption. The bench said in a short order that it was of the considered view that no case was made out for a review. The court directed authorities to comply with its earlier detailed order on the issue in letter and spirit without any delay. It had heard the case for five days before dismissing the government's petition. Former Law Minister Babar Awan, a close aide of Zardari, had appeared in court as the government's counsel. On December 16, 2009, the Supreme Court had struck down the NRO, which was passed in October 2007 by Musharraf as part of a secret understanding with slain former premier Benazir Bhutto. The secret deal had allowed Musharraf, who was also army chief, to remain in power by contesting Presidential polls while still in uniform. (More)