Daily Times

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman and former president Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday submitted his written response in the Supreme Court in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) case, stressing that he played no role in the formation of the controversial law.

The NRO, promulgated by then president General Pervez Musharraf in 2007, had granted amnesty to politicians and other individuals by quashing various corruption and criminal cases against them.

In his reply, Zardari stated that cases against him were taken back in 2007 under the NRO, however, they were reopened after NRO was overruled.

The response stated that Zardari was acquitted from criminal cases under the law. He maintained that allegations of looting or damaging the national exchequer were never proven.

Zardari contended that his political rivals had created false cases against him. He said the intention behind leveling allegations against him was to malign his reputation and his party.

In a previous hearing of the case on June 6, the Supreme Court had also issued a notice to Pervez Musharraf. The petition identifying Pervez Musharraf, Asif Ali Zardari and former attorney general Malik Abdul Qayyum as respondents, was filed by one Feroz Shah Gilani.

The petitioner had requested the court to order recovery of huge amounts of public money misappropriated and wasted by the respondents through unlawful means.

He contended that Musharraf subverted the constitution by declaring Nov 3, 2007 emergency followed by the promulgation of the NRO, through which criminal and corruption cases against politicians, including Zardari, were arbitrarily withdrawn causing huge financial losses to the national exchequer.

Published in Daily Times, June 27^th 2018.