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Govt agrees on sovereign guarantee for PSM
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PROFIT | PAGE 01
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pakistantoday.com.pk
rs15.00 Vol ii no 150 32 Pages islamabad — Peshawar edition
NRO VERDICT REVIEW PETITION
Govt fails to make its case in SC g
Court tells govt to implement its December 16, 2009 verdict without further delay ISLAMABAD
A
MaSooD ReHMaN
GAINST the backdrop of the evolving political situation and the ‘memo’ controversy still unresolved, the government on Friday suffered a serious blow on the constitutional and moral front as the Supreme Court dismissed its review petition against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) verdict, declaring that the government had failed to build any case for a review. In its short order, a 17-member fullcourt bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry held that federation’s counsel Dr Babar Awan argued in support of the review petition filed by the federation against
the NRO verdict under Article 188 of the constitution for four days, but he failed to make out any case for review and dismissed the review petition. The court told the government and the authorities concerned to implement in letter and spirit and without any further delay its December 16, 2009 verdict, which had declared the NRO unconstitutional ab initio. All actions taken under the NRO stand null and void with the dismissal of the review petition, leaving the government with no option but to withdraw the benefits given to all those who were facing criminal cases before the promulgation of the NRO. GOVT STRATEGY: However, it remains to be seen what strategy the government adopts in the wake of the court’s order. “We will [implement the court decision]… let the court issue a detailed
judgement,” Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Information Secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira said when asked whether the government would implement the court order or not. At the outset of the hearing on Friday, the government’s Advocate-on-Record (AOR) Mahmood A Sheikh had sought adjournment of the case on behalf of the federation’s counsel Dr Babar Awan, stating that because of some family engagements Awan was unable to appear in court. But the court expressed dismay over the absence of Awan and the chief justice said Awan should have ensured his appearance as a 17-member full court was hearing the case. Justice Asif ContinueD on Page 04
PPP exPlores its oPtions | Page 04
saturday, 26 november, 2011 Zul-Haj 29, 1432
41 militants killed in Kurram, Orakzai KURRAM/ORAKZAI AGENCIES INP
Up to 41 militants were killed and another 15 injured in separate offensives by security forces in Kurram and Orakzai Agencies on Friday. The forces assaulted militant strongholds in Kurram Agency at around midnight, killing 35 militants and injuring 15 others, security officials said. Four soldiers were also killed in the clash, which lasted several hours. Militant sources confirmed the clashes
and casualties but disputed the government’s death toll. In a separate incident, security forces killed six militants and destroyed two hideouts in Orakzai Agency. A search operation was also carried out in the village of Paskalay, where 15 suspected militants were arrested. Security forces claimed to have killed over 120 militants and injured 40 in Orakzai Agency during the past week. They also claimed to have regained control of Akhund Kot, Chapar and Dapar Killay areas.
Pakistan clean sweep SL The Pakistan cricket team put up another clinical performance to win the only Twenty20 by five wickets against Sri Lanka at Abu Dhabi stadium on Friday, blanking their rivals in all three forms of the game. Paceman Aizaz Cheema took 4-30 to bowl Sri Lanka out for 141 in 19.3 overs before skipper Misbahul Haq kept his nerves with a fighting unbeaten 48 to help his team chase down the target with three balls to spare. The victory capped a remarkable performance by Pakistan who won the
preceding three-Test series 1-0 and the five-match one-day series 4-1. Misbah, who hit three boundaries and a six off 38 balls, added 46 for the fourth wicket with Asad Shafiq (33) after Pakistan lost their way in pursuit of the target. They lost Mohammad Hafeez (13), Imran Farhat (13) and Umar Akmal for a first ball duck. Shafiq hit three boundaries during his run-a-ball knock before he was bowled by Lasith Malinga.
DetaileD story | Page 21
Classic catch-22 as govt faces legal, political fallout ISLAMABAD IRfaN BUKHaRI
KARACHI: A little girl walks to school barefoot from a flood relief camp. Despite millions of people being affected by two massive floods in as many years, the government has yet to provide any tangible support to the victims. INP
SC shows the door to OGRA chief ISLAMABAD Staff RePoRt
A three-member Supreme Court bench on Friday struck down the appointment of Tauqir Sadiq as the chairman of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), ordering him to return all salaries and privileges he drew from the public exchequer in course of his service as the OGRA chairman. The bench of Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain said in its unanimous verdict that Sadiq’s appointment was illegal and void ab initio. The court ordered immediate de-notification of Sadiq’s appointment as the OGRA chief, besides directing the government not to leave the post vacant. The judgement also took note of a number of serious corruption al-
legations leveled against Sadiq and observed that the allegations were worthy of a serious investigation. The court directed NAB to submit a report to the court in this regard within a period of 45 days. The petition challenging Sadiq’s appointment was filed by Muhammad Yasin, an OGRA employee. Sadiq who is the brother-in-law of PPP leader Jehangir Badr, was appointed by the federal government to the post in July 2009. The court ruled that the criteria, expressly laid down in Section 3(4) of the OGRA Ordinance 2002, were violated by appointing Sadiq. Section 3(4) commands that the head of this independent institution must be a person who is an eminent professional of known competence and integrity. “Sadiq, against whom there are a number of corruption allegations, and who purports to have an LLM degree from a ‘fake degree-granting’ institution, the American University
in London, was found falling short of the required standard,” the court held. The court held that under the law and constitution, while the executive retained the power to make appointments, it had to exercise this power in a demonstrably fair and honest manner. The judgment outlines a three-pronged test for this which stresses objectivity, relevance and due diligence. “Failing this test, appointments made by the executive will be invalid, and liable to be struck down upon judicial review,” the court ruled. The judgment stated that the process of appointing Sadiq as OGRA chief was fraught with serious irregularities. It pointed out that applicants were being selected and rejected in an arbitrary and lawless manner with little attention being paid to objective indicators of their ability and merit.
The Supreme Court’s dismissal of the government’s review petition against the apex court decision on the legality of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) has finally left the government with no option but to implement its December 16, 2009 judgement declaring this probably most controversial political agreement between former president Pervez Musharraf and slain Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairwoman Benazir Bhutto unconstitutional. Though the government has not reacted to the judgement except taking a position that the matter would be discussed at the top party (PPP) level, its political fallout will be farreaching. Not only will the government have to write a letter to the Swiss authorities to reopen the cases closed under the NRO, which it is reluctant to do, it will also have to take action against former attorney general Justice (r) Malik Qayyum. Politically, the most critical aspect of this dismissal of the review petition is that, except President Asif Ali Zardari who enjoys immunity under Article 248 of the constitution, the criminal cases against some federal ministers and a large number of political workers and leaders belonging to the PPP and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) stand restored. Legally, the government will face contempt of court in case it does not implement the Supreme Court’s judgement declaring the NRO unconstitutional and void ab initio. If the government delays the implementation of this judgement, the executive-judiciary tension, which already exists on a host of legal issues, may culminate in a serious crisis in the country. TOP PARTY LEVEL: While Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan told Pakistan Today that the detailed judgement would be discussed at the top party level and the strategy to implement the decision would be chalked out accordingly, legal experts believe that the PPP government’s tactics with which it delayed the implementation of Supreme Court verdict for around two years are ContinueD on Page 04