NRO beneficiaries list issued

ISLAMABAD (SANA): Government has released list of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) beneficiaries. President Asif Ali Zardari, MQM Quaid Altaf Hussain, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar and Pakistani Ambassador to US Hussain Haqqani are main beneficiaries of the NRO, according to the list.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Federal State Minister for Law and Justice ® Afzal Sandhu read out some of the names including President Zardari, Rehman Malik, Secretary General Salman Farooqi, Ahmed Mukhtar, MQM Parliamentary leader Dr. Farooq Sattar, Federal Minister Babar Ghauri, Former federal minister for Interior and PPP (Sherpao) leader Aftab Khan Sherpao, Hussain Haqqani, A R Siddiqui, High Commissioner for Britain Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Baigum Nusrat Bhutto, Haji Nawaz Khokhar, Anwar Saifullah, Secretary General PPP Jahangir Badar, Rana Nazir, Chaudhry Abdul Hameed, Tariq Anees, Sardar Maqsood Leghari, Agha Siraj Durrani, Mushtaq Awan and Mir Baz Khan Khetran, Usman Farooqi, Brig. Aslam Hayat, Brigadier (r) Aslam Hayat, and Brig. (r) Imtiaz.

Afzal Sandhu stated that the beneficiaries of the NRO’s Article-2 in Sindh includes like Altaf Hussein, Babar Ghauri, Ishrat ul Ibad, Dr. Imran Farooq, Nouman Sehgul, Dr. Farooq Sattar, Saleem Shahzad, Kanwar Khalid Younis, and Safdar Baqari.

According to the list, Zardari took advantage in six cases; Altaf Hussein took advantage in 72 cases, while 7793 people benefited from 3230 cases in Sindh.

Altaf Hussian took relief in various cases including 31 murders, 11 attempt murders, three abduction and 27 other cases.

The minister said that three diplomats, including Hussain Haqqani, Wajid Shams-ul-Hasan and AR Siddiqui also benefited from the law.

Sandhu said that total 71 cases against MQM chief were withdrawn under the Ordinance.

Shahbaz Sharif’s advisor Saeed Mehdi is also among the NRO beneficiaries.

The number of cases from Sindh was 3230, of them, 7793 people were benefited, Afzal Sandhu said. The minister said the number of politicians who benefited from the NRO is very few. Out of total 8041 persons who benefited from the law 7793 belong to Sindh province, he said.

He said that there were two cases against the Prime Minister; however, he was acquitted in both the cases; the name of his wife is not on the list.

“The spouse of the prime minister was not among the beneficiaries of NRO,” the state minister said. He said there were only two cases against Prime Minister Gilani and he was acquitted by the courts in both the cases.

The State Minister for Law said the myriad corruption cases were pending since decades; only one case was decided, after which, three judges had to resign, adding several cases were politically motivated.

Sandhu said that the cases were lodged against the leaders of Pakistan Peoples Party in the regime of Nawaz Sharif and he had himself admitted that’s why the Charter of Democracy (CoD) came into exists between Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. “Former president Farooq Ahmed Khan Laghari had lodged cases against the PPP leaders and now he has no encourage to come in the Parliament House despite he is sitting MNA”, he added.

The state minister said that the President Asif Ali Zardari is exempt from any case under the roles of the institution.

On a query, he said the NRO was brought to the Parliament at the bidding of the Supreme Court and the verdicts of the higher judiciary would be respected in future as well. He made it clear that the government did not protect any body adding that the all cases would be opened if the Supreme Court gave verdict against the NRO.