Slaughter of animals NRO beneficiaries begins on Eid
By guestwriter at 21 November, 2009, 5:51 am
By Muhammad Ahmad Noorani. The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) will soon announce its strategy to deal with the cases which are going to reopen on Nov 28
“The NAB chairman is in process of consultations with different legal experts to formulate some strategy regarding the accused persons whose cases will re-open on the NRO’s expiry,” NAB spokesman Ghazni Khan said. He said that the NAB will come up with a clear strategy in this regard much before the deadline of November 28, 2009.
However, while the NAB decides what to do, Eidul Azha, known as the Eid of sacrifices, this time may see additional sacrifices of some VIP goats, sheep and camels. It is ironical but in an interesting twist of fate Mufti Muneebur Rehman, chief of the Markazi Ruat-e-Hilal Committee (MRHC), has announced that Eidul Azha will fall on November 28, which according to the PPP’s Law Minister Afzal Sindhu, is the date the NRO cases will also re-open.
Differing with country’s top legal and constitutional experts’ opinion, Sindhu had stated that cases closed under the NRO would not reopen instantly but would automatically revive on November 28 after the expiry of 120 days, as given by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in its July 31 judgment.
Sindhu held this view even after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Babar Awan had officially announced on the floor of the Lower House that the government had decided in principle to withdraw the NRO bill. Sindhu is on the record having said that the cases would reopen on Nov 28 and the accused will be bound to get a pre-arrest bail to avoid going behind the bars.
According to experts, if the federal government acts strictly in accordance with law and the Constitution and legal interpretation of its own law minister, many of the federal and provincial ministers, some close aides of President Zardari and others would have to celebrate Eid in jail, unless they get pre-arrest bails.
Legal expert SM Zafar said if the police or the NAB do not arrest these accused, any court could order their arrest.Zafar said that even the court of a magistrate had great powers and in case of non-compliance with arrest orders it could order the arrest of top police or NAB officials, including the IG of any province.
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