Iftikhar Chaudhry and NRO

samb · October 2, 2010, 4:40pm

Re: Iftikhar Chaudhry and NRO

When the president issues an ‘ordinance’, at a time when we have a working parliament, to transfer powers from NAB to Law Minister, somebody has to take things up:

Accountability Ordinance promulgated ‘secretly’

The National Accountability (Amendment) Ordinance of 2010 was promulgated in a clandestine manner, as not only the legal community and the nation were unaware but the top officials in the Law Ministry also knew nothing about it.

Law Secretary Masood Chishti while talking to TheNation expressed his complete ignorance and said, “I don’t know any such Ordinance has ever been issued.” He, however, said that the Ordinance was promulgated when the National Assembly and the Senate were not in sessions. “The President is only allowed to issue the Ordinance when there was no session of the Parliament,” he said.

The indecent haste shrouded in secrecy with which powers of NAB Chairman, who is yet to be appointed after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, have been transferred to the Law Minister may lend credence to the view that the Government is not serious about accountability…*

The supreme court ordered an independent person to be appointed Chairman NAB… the government asked for a few days’ extension for ‘consultation’… the above ordinance is the result of that ‘consultation’.

I am not really sure who is the first to go on the war path!

how this still the supreme court’s problem? why does Iftikhar Chauhdry have a problem every time the govt changes any official?

a protest was registered against this in the senate. all oppositions parties walked out… and Raza Rabbani (he of the PPP) joined them in the walk out as protest against this stupid change.

THAT is the proper way to change things. THAT is the proper way to protest. it is the job of the opposition to act as the opposition… NOT Iftikhar Chauhdry’s. Iftikhar Chauhdry shouldn’t get horny every time the govt makes a move one way or the other.