Admitting for regular hearing two petitions challenging the number of cabinet ministers and the eligibility of Sharmila Farooqi as an adviser to the Sindh chief minister despite being an NRO beneficiary, the Supreme Court on Thursday said Sharmila’s issue was continuation of the NRO case in which notices were issued to the federation as well all four provinces.
A three-member bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez after hearing petitioner Habibul Wahabul Khairi, who is also the chairman of the Al-Jihad Trust, removed all objections raised by the registrar office on the petitions and directed that the petitions be fixed for regular hearing for being maintainable.
Khairi contended before the court that Sharmila first cleared allegations against her through a plea bargain under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) and then became adviser to Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah. He said the office of an adviser was a public office, which could not be held by Sharmila for being an NRO beneficiary. He requested the court to ascertain the salary and other benefits withdrawn by Sharmila during her tenure as an adviser and order their retrieval to the national exchequer. The chief justice noted that Sharmila’s issue seemed to be a continuation of the NRO case and if she had compromised a plea bargain with NAB, her eligibility as an adviser should be reviewed. He said those who benefited from NRO were not eligible to hold public office. At the outset of the hearing, the court asked the petitioner to remove some indecent words used against Sharmila in his petition, otherwise, it would not be entertained. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain said words should be particularly used carefully against females. “We respect you and will also have to respect others,” Justice Khilji Arif Hussain told Khairi. Arguing his other petition, Khairi said a number of ministers in the federal cabinet was curtailed through the 18th Amendment, but the decision had not been implemented yet. Sharmila had entered a plea bargain with the NAB on April 28, 2001. On April 12, 2000, Accountability Court No IV Karachi convicted Sharmila, her mother Anisa Farooqi and father Usman Farooqui on corruption charges. They were each sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment.
