On Wednesday, probing the NRO case, Chief Justice Saqib Nisar has asked for the details of foreign assets of the former presidents of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari and General Pervaiz Musharraf (Retd).
The National Reconciliation Order (NRO) was a controversial presidential ordinance passed by Pervez Musharraf in 2007 that granted pardon to corrupt individuals and politicians by absolving the corruption charges and criminal cases against them; allowing them to return to the country without the threat of being charged and penalized and also giving them the permission to engage in the democratic process.
In April 2018, Feroz Shah Gilani filed a petition against former presidents Musharraf and Zardari and the former attorney general Qayyum to order the recovery of 'huge amounts of public money' embezzled and wasted by them through unlawful means.
Gilani further asserted that Musharraf had repeatedly breached the constitution during his tenure, by declaring a state of emergency and passing the controversial NRO which not only pardoned the corrupt individuals but also caused financial loss to the national exchequer.
Hearing the case today, Justice Saqib Nisar claimed that the Supreme Court must be taken in confidence regarding the details of foreign accounts and assets of Musharraf, Zardari and Qayyum.
The SC ordered the respondents to submit the details of personal foreign assets, foreign bank accounts, offshore companies and the assets of their children.
Last month, ex-President of Pakistan Asif Zardari made the claim that he had no role in the formation of the controversial law, NRO.
Submitting a response to the Supreme Court regarding the case, Zardari elaborated that while the criminal cases against him were absolved in 2007 according to the NRO, they were reopened after the over-ruling of NRO by the apex court.
Zardari further claimed that he was proved innocent in the subsequent trials of criminal cases against him.
