National Reconciliation Order

NRO (National Reconciliation Order) is indeed a novel way of pardoning all those individuals who otherwise stand no earthly chance of getting exonerated from the criminal offences they committed against the people and the state of Pakistan. It, undoubtedly, is a carte blanche or a short cut for all sinners to by pass the law and be reborn like a guiltless baby. The concept of Truth and Reconciliation of Nelson Mandela cannot be offered as a parallel of pardoning the outlaws. That was a magnificent gesture of a newborn nation against their colonial masters and tormenters. They were foes of each other. Here is a sordid example of aiding and abetting the thugs and looters of their own people. The irony is that there is no mention of return of the looted money to the national exchequer. It condones the plunder, extortion and glaring abuse and misuse of power by a few individuals. It is a sheer mockery of both the law and the constitution by the stalwarts of the ruling cliques already in the power saddle and those who have recently stepped in. It makes the law of the land discriminatory.

It would, therefore, be in order that those criminals who are languishing in jails for similar and other crimes must also be allowed to benefit from this satanic injunction which is unthinkable in a civilized society. The reprehensible dimension of this condemnable order is that it has not been passed by the parliament or a court of law but by an individual to ensure his perpetuation in power. Such are the dark shadows that hover over the backward societies such as Pakistan where law and constitution are considered like pieces of garbage to be casually disposed off. What fairness can be expected from those getting this most unjustifiable reprieve to be honest in future with the restored power added clout? Is it that the nation is being told “look there are two laws in Pakistan: one for the corrupt leaders and the other for the people and that the formers are above law”.

The best way out for the pardoned individuals and those who have pardoned was to give the convicts a fair trial in the judicial framework to prove them innocent. That would have been ostensibly an honorable way of acquitting these felons from the diabolic crimes they have been committing against an impoverished nation and the poor people of Pakistan.

It is, therefore, incumbent upon the signatories of this sleazy piece of royal amnesty to make it applicable to all and sundry so that Pakistan’s legal system and the dubious honor of our rulers can get some semblance of saving grace. It is amazing too that the judicial community that is hell-bent to restore the dignity of the judiciary as well as to rehabilitate the deposed bench (bunch also) of supreme court judges, have not said a word about the NRO which for all intents and propose is a nefarious piece of proclamation only to provide a backdoor escape route to the law breakers and evil doers.