International   

PPP backtracks on Ordinance vote

ISLAMABAD: A beleaguered Pakistan People’s Party government has decided not to put the National Reconciliation Ordinance to vote in the National Assembly after both opposition parties and allies made it clear they will not assist in its passage.

With this, the government has pushed the NRO ball back to the Supreme Court.

In a July ruling against the November 3, 2007 emergency proclaimed by the former military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, the court asked Parliament to decide the fate of the NRO and 36 other ordinances promulgated by him in the days before and during this emergency.

Ordinances have to be enacted within 120 days of their promulgation, but the court directed this time period as starting on July 29, the date of its ruling.

Retaining the NRO is important to the government as President Asif Ali Zardari is one of the beneficiaries of the law. Some other prominent members of the government, including Interior Minister Rehman Malik, also benefited from it.

Since its promulgation, the NRO has drawn fire from opposition parties and a wide-spectrum of other critics who described it as a “black law” that legitimises corruption. It has also become a potent weapon in the hands of campaigners against Mr. Zardari, some of whom are determined to see him go “in the interests of the nation”.

The growing rift between him and the security establishment, and the intense anti-Zardari mood in the opposition parties and in the media, all contributed to tightening the government’s corner as it moved to seek parliamentary approval for the NRO.

Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim league (N), took a strong position against it. But the die was cast when the MQM, an ally of the PPP but often seen as speaking for the military establishment, openly came out against the NRO on Monday, and asked Mr. Zardari to make a “big sacrifice” in order to “save the system”.

As a humiliating defeat in the house stared it in the face, the decision not to put the NRO to a vote was taken late on Monday night after a meeting between Mr. Zardari and his aides.

Two petitions challenging the NRO as unconstitutional and discriminatory are before the Supreme Court, and once again, Pakistan’s judiciary will be expected to play a crucial role in a fast heating-up political battle.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Bid to curtail Goldstone impact
Maoists postpone blockade
12 Sri Lankan parties float new opposition front
PPP backtracks on Ordinance vote
Czech President signs EU treaty

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu