The National Reconciliation Ordnance (NRO), the mother of all political deals and compromises introduced by former president Pervez Musharraf’s government on October 5, 2007, was aimed at promoting “national reconciliation, foster mutual trust and confidence amongst holders of public office and remove the vestiges of political vendetta and victimisation to make the election process more transparent and to amend certain laws for that purpose and for matters connected therewith and ancillary”.
Under the same objective, an amendment of Section 494, Act V of 1898, was introduced under which the federal and provincial governments were given the powers before the judgement is pronounced by a trial court to withdraw from the prosecution of any person including an absconding accused who was found to be falsely involved for political reasons or through political victimisation in any case initiated between January 1, 1986 to October 12, 1999.
A review board undertaking review of a case was given powers to direct the public prosecutor or any other authority concerned to furnish to it the record of the case. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was the major beneficiary of these clauses introduced in the law under the NRO as thousands of cases against its workers had been withdrawn.
The NRO was also amended so that no incumbent members of parliament or a provincial assembly could be arrested without taking into consideration the recommendations of the Special Parliamentary Committee on Ethics. President Asif Ali Zardari and his party colleagues, including federal and provincial ministers, had benefited from this amendment.
Proceedings under investigation or pending in any court including a high court and the supreme court initiated on a reference by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) inside or outside the country, including proceedings under Section 33 of the NAB Ordinance, proceedings initiated by the federal government before October 12, 1999 against holders of public office were withdrawn and terminated with immediate effect and such holders of public office were also not liable to any action in future as well under this ordinance.
Under the NRO, the federal government and the NAB were asked to withdraw cases against most of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders who had been punished by courts in absentia. The NRO also helped the PPP leadership withdraw all their cases inside and outside the country, especially in the Swiss courts, and the prosecution was dropped by the state and the then attorney general Malik Mohammed Qayyum had also written a letter to the Swiss authorities under the NRO to drop cases against President Zardari and Benazir Bhutto.
