Islamabad, January 04: Pakistan’s Supreme Court today gave the government a “last and final opportunity” to implement its order to reopen graft cases against thousands of people, including President Asif Ali Zardari, that were closed under an amnesty that has been declared void.
A five-member special bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa said in its order that authorities were being given the “last and final opportunity” to implement its order scrapping the National Reconciliation Ordinance, a graft amnesty that was issued by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2007.
If the authorities failed to act on the order, the court would be forced to “take action against delinquent authorities” and would pass orders “against anyone, no matter how high an authority he might be”, the bench said.
Today’s ruling is expected to increase pressure on Zardari and the government, which is already grappling with a Supreme Court-ordered inquiry into the alleged memo that had sought US help to stave off a possible military coup in Pakistan after the killing of Osama bin Laden in May.
Since the apex court struck down the NRO in December 2009, it has been pressuring the Pakistan People’s Party-led government to reopen graft cases, including money laundering cases that were registered against Zardari in Switzerland.
The government has refused to act, saying Zardari enjoys immunity from prosecution because of his position.
The bench also asked National Accountability Bureau Chairman Fasih Bokhari and prosecutor general Karim Khan Agha to appear before it in person and submit written statements on the actions they intended to take.
The court observed in its order that after going through the orders of the case, it showed that progress made by the authorities was “next to nothing”.
The bench further directed NAB officials to submit a report on the recovery of properties of Ahmed Riaz Sheikh, a former Federal Investigation Agency official who benefited from the NRO.
The court directed Attorney General Anwar-ul-Haq and Law Secretary Masood Chishti to be present at the next hearing to explain what steps they had taken on a proposal sent to the Prime Minister to seek his advice on reopening certain cases.
On November 24, a 17-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry had dismissed the government’s petition seeking a review of the apex court’s order striking down the NRO.
The court had then directed authorities to comply with its decision in letter and spirit without any delay.
–Agencies