All posts tagged: NRO

NRO Order, CJ or 18th Amendment

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Barrister Amjad Malik 16 December 2010 Supreme Court order on NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) has shattered the ruling govt which was standing on the 4 pillars of this barter orchestrated by military & Pentagon , USA &UK and (PPP) Pak people party leadership which is clutching and hanging on to a straw now. Instead of whole heartedly, understanding the tenacity of situation and implementing the order by realigning politically based on reality, the leadership went for hit and run ditto of their predecessor General Musharraf who sacked the chief justice who was considering a petition on his Presidential election in military uniform.

POPULISM ON THE RAMPAGE

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By Dr. Khalil Ahmad The demagogue is usually sly, a detractor of others, a professor of humility and disinterestedness, a great stickler for equality as respects all above him, a man who acts in corners, and avoids open and manly expositions of his course, calls blackguards gentlemen, and gentlemen folks, appeals to passions and prejudices rather than to reason, and is in all respects, a man of intrigue and deception, of sly cunning and management. [James Fenimore Cooper, 1789-1851] The populist stance of the Pakistan Peoples Party was manifest from the very beginning. It is only now in the wake of the NRO’s birth and death that the perils of it have started showing up. This has put the whole lot of its leadership and workers against all that is known as morality, law and the present Pakistan. What damage it is going to inflict on the nation and the country and the magnitude of it is no guesswork!

2009 in broad strokes

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By Qurat ul ain Siddiqui If pressed, Pakistanis would probably give 2009 mixed reviews. Throughout the year, political problems – clashes between the government and opposition; a failure of the civilian and military establishments to see eye to eye; wrangling between the centre and the provinces – and the slow march of extremism, in the form of militant posturing and suicide attacks, have vied for headlines.

Supereme Court Throws out NRO

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The following is the text of the order issued by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on petitions challenging the National Reconciliation Ordinance: The bench Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, CJ, Mr Justice Javed Iqbal, Mr Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan, Mr Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, Mr Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Mr Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, Mr Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, Mr Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, Mr Justice Ch. Ijaz Ahmed, Mr Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, Mr Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui, Mr Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, Mr Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Mr Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Mr Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi, Mr Justice Tariq Parvez, and Mr Justice Ghulam Rabbani.

Pakistan and Democracy – Time to Be Realistic?

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By Asim Salahuddin Its that time in Pakistani politics again, where after roughly two years of coming to power the ‘elected’ and ‘democratic’ regime is once again under threat of being thrown out on one charge of misdemeanour or another. It would really be a lot simpler in one sense if we all just accepted that Pakistan is going to have elections after two years rather than four; it would make the pretence of transparent and accountable rule a bit easier to swallow. At least the people would feel they have some power whilst the new overlords are installed after receiving their political baptism in Washington. The only drawback with this sort of plan is that the ‘disgraced’ politicians who are regularly recycled in Pakistan would not have had enough time out in the ‘sin-bin’ for their transgressions to make them palatable enough for the people to accept them as rulers again.

Time for action- Dawn Editorial

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In the wake of the NRO debacle, Prime Minister Gilani stood on the floor of the National Assembly on Tuesday and, according to a report in this newspaper, vowed that his ‘government would seek early restoration of parliament’s powers, tackle people’s pressing problems and launch an austerity drive.’ Forgive us if we are not wowed by the prime minister’s vow. Let’s start with what is under the prime minister’s control, at least partially, the latter issues of the ‘people’s problems’ and an ‘austerity drive.’ For a government that has been in power since March 2008, a promise to tackle the people’s problems and undertake an austerity drive in November 2009 sounds belated, to say the least. And the fact that it comes in the aftermath of yet another political setback for the government makes it appear a cynical attempt, a poor one at that, to move on from recent embarrassment.

Government retreats on NRO spat

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Dawn Politics in the country was sent on yet another major tailspin on Monday as some of the government’s trusted allies, the MQM among them, threatened to vote against the National Reconciliation Ordinance, and the main opposition PML-N launched a new tirade on the issue, forcing the beleaguered President, Asif Ali Zardari to succumb to the pressure and agree against presenting the ‘corruption laundering’ bill before the parliament. The decision was taken by the president after consulting some of his close aides, soon after the meeting of the ruling parliamentary alliance, and keeping in mind the mood in the National Assembly, particularly that of his allies, and adverse reaction of some major players in the country’s politics, particularly the army’s top command.