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36 politicians, 3 envoys among beneficiaries; names of PM, his wife not on list

Beneficiaries outed

* NRO beneficiaries’ list includes names of Asif Ali Zardari, Altaf Hussain, Rehman Malik, Aftab Sherpao, Ahmed Mukhtar, Farooq Sattar, Babar Ghauri, Salman Farooqui, Tariq Anees
* State minister for law says Supreme Court will decide fate of beneficiaries g Government will implement SC decision in ‘letter and spirit’

By Irfan Ghauri

ISLAMABAD: The government officially announced on Saturday the names and details of some National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) beneficiaries – which include President Asif Zardari, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain, several federal and provincial ministers and top bureaucrats.

The NRO would cease to be a law on November 28, as the government has already decided not to legislate on the document in parliament.

Minister of State for Law Afzal Sindhu released the names of 248 of the 8,041 beneficiaries – whose “fate would now be decided by the Supreme Court (SC)” – at a press conference, which followed a meeting with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

The beneficiaries include the top leadership of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the MQM and the PPP-Sherpao (PPP-S) – in addition to several cabinet members, retired bureaucrats and technocrats, former military officials and diplomats.

Names announced on Saturday include Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad, PPP-S chief Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Minister for Overseas Pakistanis Dr Farooq Sattar, Minister for Ports and Shipping Babar Khan Ghauri, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, Minister of State for Housing Tariq Anees, PPP Secretary General Jehangir Badar and Nusrat Bhutto.

Of the 248 names announced on Saturday, 36 are politicians.

The list of public servants who benefited from the NRO features the names of Pakistani Ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani and Secretary General to the President Salman Farooqi. The APP news agency said two other envoys were also among the NRO beneficiaries.

Sindhu said the government would not only accept the SC verdict on the fate of beneficiaries – whatever it may be – but would also implement it in “letter and spirit”. He said in case the court decided that the ordinance was ultra vires to the constitution, all cases closed under the law would reopen.

Replying to a question, Sindhu said Zardari had constitutional immunity under Article 248 of the constitution as head of state.

Sindhu said most of the cases were “politically motivated”, and Nawaz Sharif had “admitted the fact”. He said the names of the prime minister and his wife were not on the list.

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