ISLAMABAD As the Government lost the moral authority to defend the controversial NRO in the Supreme Court (SC), Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday termed this infamous ordinance as a law paving way for reconciliation with corruption. Justice Jawwad S Khawaja termed NRO as a law that protected looters, plunderers, robbers, dacoits, black sheep, corrupt, murderers and dishonest persons in the state where over 70 percent people lived their lives under extreme poverty. Justice Ramday termed most of the said Ordinances sanctions non-Islamic, explaining that murder and rape convicts can never be exonerated under any law. Therefore, it can by no means be compared to historic Hudaibiya Agreement, he explained. A 17-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice heard NRO-related petitions which sought that NRO of 2007 should be declared null ab initio on the touch stone of Article 2-A 4589 and 25 of the 1973 Constitution. The petitions challenged the NRO on the grounds that it violates the fundamental rights of the people, especially Article 25 (equality of citizens), is against political justice and also contravenes the United Nations Convention against corruption to which Pakistan is a signatory. Chief Justice directed Chairman NAB to name all the (8041) NRO beneficiaries, who were involved in heinous crimes and later got amnesty under sanction 2 of this infamous ordinance. The SC also directed acting Attorney General Shah Khawar to present the Prime Ministers statement on this issue and details of NRO proceedings in Parliament and Standing Committee sessions before the court here on Monday. The Chief Justice also advised the media not to discuss the matter with regard to NRO in television programmes until the case was disposed off. However, he said media could report the proceedings openly. During the course of Mondays proceedings the court restored the dismissed plea of Qazi Hussain Ahmed and clubbed it with other NRO pleas. Besides the main case, the court has also clubbed constitutional petitions of ANP Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan and PML-Q leader Anwar Saifullah Khan while appeals of some convicts and prisoners who had prayed for the benefit of the NRO, namely Sahukat Ali, Doraiz, Zulqurnain Shahzad and Abid Hussain, have also been fixed before the larger bench. Shah Khawar informed the court that the Federal Government would not defend the infamous NRO as the Parliament turned it down last month adding that the Government will assist the apex court in reaching an authoritative decision in the case. The Advocate Generals of four provinces and the NAB prosecutor Abdul Baseer Qureshi also expressed their inability to defend the controversial ordinance. Lawyers of all the four provinces and NAB present in the court also announced not to defend the NRO. Khawar told the full court bench that Islamabad reiterates that the 17th Amendment has affected the basic contours of Constitution, adding the Government believes in the supremacy of the Constitution of 1973. The 17th amendment is non-constitutional and Parliamentary Committees are working for its abolition, he explained. He said former President Pervez Musharraf promulgated the NRO, not the present set-up, and that the latter will not defend this law. At this point, the Chief Justice remarked that this issue has nothing to do with NRO. The issue being heard is not 17th Amendment; rather, it is the NRO, he explained. Besides, the SC sought the opinion of representatives of the Federation and the provinces on the impact of the decision of not defending the NRO by the Federation and its unit. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry gave strict orders that the court must be notified of every person who is a beneficiary. Dr. Mubbashars counsel Hafeez Pirzada informed the court that Salman Akram Raja would argue in the said case, as he himself is not feeling well. Section 2 of NRO is in violation of Article 175 of the Constitution because the court has been entrusted to review the board which is not a judicial body but executing body consisting of AG, Law Secretary and retired judges of Supreme Court. Therefore, it is ultra vires of the constitution, Salman argued. Section 7 of NRO is violation of fundamental rights particularly Article 8 and 25 of the Constitution, he added. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan, Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Tassadduq Hussain Jillani, Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed, Justice Muhammad Sair Ali, Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui, Justice S. Khawaja, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi, Justice Tariq Parvez and Justice Ghulam Rabbani were other judges of the bench. Justice Zahid Hussain of SC did not attend proceedings as his matter is pending with PCO judges cases. Former Judge Sindh High Court Shaiq Usmani, Advocate Supreme Court and former Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Mian Allah Nawaz, and former Attorney General for Pakistan M. Sardar Khan have been appointed as amicus curiae to assist the 17-member Larger Bench to be headed by Chief Justice Muhammad Iftikhar Chaudhary. They will assist the court to reach an authoritative decision while interpreting the NRO. They were also appointed as amici curiae in October 2007 to assist the court in the same cases. Salman Raja, counsel for Dr Mubbashar and other lawyers will continue their arguments today. It may be noted that the NRO has already been securitised by two Chief Justices of the Supreme Court in October 2007, observing that the NRO beneficiaries would not be entitled to claim any protection of a concluded action under sections six and seven of the NRO while describing it as being against the public interest as it gives a blanket cover to those who have committed corruption.