ISLAMABAD, The Supreme Court on Tuesday accepted a plea on behalf of Federation regarding implementation of its orders of Dec 16, 2009, on National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) and fixed Oct 13 for hearing of a review plea first which has been pending with it.It also directed the Attorney General for Pakistan and the Deputy Prosecutor General NAB to submit comprehensive reports about implementation of all other orders on NRO before next date of hearing.
Meanwhile, the three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Tariq Parvez and Justice Ghulam Rabbani resumed hearing on a suo motu case taken on appointment of former managing director OGDCL Adnan A. Khawja, a beneficiary of NRO.
Attorney General for Pakistan Molvi Anwarul Haq submitted an adjournment plea and said that he was instructed by the prime minister to request on behalf of the Federation for adjournment of the pending proceedings till a decision on its review petition.
He said the prime minister had been very busy in state affairs and inter alia, with the flood situation and international commitments and wished to further consider and discuss the legal aspects of the matter.
The chief justice said that the court understood the implications and complications of the case and would fix hearing of the review petition as it was their due right.
He said," what you considered or did, it was you internal matter. A request for the review petition was never made as the federation counsel barrister Kamal Azfar was on general adjournment till Oct 10."
Deputy Prosecutor general NAB Raja Aamir Abbas submitted a list of 36 NRO beneficiaries and the current status of their cases.
He said that they had requested the Establishment Division to identify such people, who were holding government posts but the reply was still awaited.
He said similar requests were made to DG Operation NAB and deputy chairman but he got no replies.
About revival of NAB cases, he apprised that there were two categories, including the one in which accused did not appear before courts while in others the original trials were held but the appeals were pending.
The chief justice maintained that the deputy chairman NAB whose authority to work as acting chairman NAB was declared illegal by this Court, had passed illegal orders.
He asked the Deputy Prosecutor General to submit details of all such orders and hinted that if those orders were not reverted, they would issue him a notice.
The chief justice said that there were cases in Sindh too.
He said that the court was not insisting on any particular case but saying that all its orders on NRO must be implemented in letter and spirit.
He also told the Attorney General that so far new NAB chairman was not appointed though he had recorded the statement in Bank of Punjab case that the process was underway and his appointment was a matter of few days.
Justice Ghulam Rabbani questioned why prosecutors were not appointed in Sindh.
There were five accountability courts with single prosecutor. Moreover, there were no proper rooms for accountability judges, he added.
The AG said that only LHC chief justice had sent him a letter for establishment of accountability courts, and two courts in Islamabad and one in Multan were established.
The CJ also asked the NAB official to provide details of those persons who were tried under Section 31-a (conviction in absentia) of the National Accountability Ordinance.
He observed that it was a good sign that such people had surrendered and filed appeals which was their right.
He also questioned the details of cases pending in foreign countries including Switzerland to which government of Pakistan was pleaded as a civil party.
The chief justice said that the former attorney general who made requests for the withdrawal of Swiss cases was equally responsible.
To bench's query, the Attorney General replied that only inquires were held in Swiss cases and the authorities there withdrew their own people's names.
He said about 24 claimants belonging to foreign countries appeared and became parties to the alleged amount.
PARIS, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Monday called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to re-impose a settlement freeze, saying it was the only way for peace talks to succeed, his spokesman said.
KARACHI, The Pakistani rupee fell to a record low on Monday because of increased dollar demand for import payments.
LAHORE, The manager of Pakistan's cricket tour of England resigned on Monday, just days after the players flew home following controversies over spot fixing.
MUMBAI, That ‘Dabangg’ is the biggest grosser ever in Hindi cinema is a known fact by now and those associated with the film didn’t miss a chance to party hard to celebrate the success of the film.
LONDON, Treatment with vitamin C rapidly improves the emotional state of acutely hospitalized patients, according to a study carried out by researchers at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital (JGH) and the affiliated Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (LDI).
LAHORE, PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif said his party was behind the Supreme Court and only the court can rule over the issue of presidential immunity, Geo News reported Friday.
ISLAMABAD, Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has directed NRO-benefited government officials to quit voluntarily with immediate effect, Geo News reported.
WASHINGTON: India's External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Thursday asked Pakistan to "vacate" its "illegal occupation of certain parts of Jammu and Kashmi" before advising New Delhi "how to go about doing things in Kashmir," after Pakistan sought US intervention on the issue and questioned the state's accession to India.
ISLAMABAD, Sugar millers oppose a government decision to allow unlimited imports of raw sugar after massive sugarcane crop losses, an industry official said on Friday, adding the shortfall would be smaller than expected.
NEW DELHI, New Delhi welcomed the first athletes to its crisis-hit Commonwealth Games on Friday as organisers raced against time to rescue the event amid claims the city should never have been chosen.
LOS ANGELES, Actresses Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver turned up at the premiere of their latest film 'You Again' in Los Angeles last night sporting exactly the same dress.
MOSCOW: Moscow registered nearly 11,000 deaths due to an unprecedented heatwave this summer, a city official said, as the mortality rate more than doubled in the Russian capital.
LONDON, Swimming in indoor chlorinated pools may induce genotoxicity (DNA damage that may lead to cancer) as well as respiratory effects, but the positive health effects of swimming can be maintained by reducing pool levels of the chemicals behind these potential health risks, according to a new study published in a set of three articles online September 12 ahead of print in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP).
MUMBAI, Kareena Kapoor, soon to be seen as a spy, a la Mata Haari, in the forth coming flick ‘Agent Vinod’, is turning 30 years old on the 21st of September. However, she is in distress, as she has to be in Latvia for Saif’s home production, ‘Agent Vinod’, and will not be able to return to Mumbai to be with her family and friends.
LONDON, Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi has said that efforts are being made to destroy his country’s team; but, the Pak nation would emerge with as much resilience as it is suppressed.
KARACHI, Stocks ended lower on Tuesday as cautious investors booked profits on fears of a hike in the key policy rate when the monetary policy is unveiled next week, dealers said.
KABUL, Nine foreign troops were killed in a NATO helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, the military alliance said, taking the overall death toll among foreign forces to an annual record.
MUZAFFARABAD, A school bus carrying at least 25 students skidded into a river near Garhi Dopatta area of Muzaffarabad; bodies of 14 children have been recovered from the river, Geo News reported Tuesday.
ISLAMABAD: Brig. Imtiaz (rtd) and Adnan Khawja of the OGDCL have been arrested from the courtroom today and were being shifted to Adiala Jail, Geo News reported Tuesday.
SEHWAN: The breaches in Manchhar Lake bunds of RD-95, 96 and 97 widened to one kilometer, inundating over several acres of crops and 190 villages of Dal, Chana and Union Council Bobak of Tehsil Sehwan, Geo News reported Saturday.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said called within two days the lists of officers who benefited from National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), Geo News reported Saturday.