Zardari challenges SC order in asset details case

ISLAMABAD: Former president Asif Ali Zardari filed a review petition challenging the orders of the Supreme Court seeking foreign asset details in the National Reconciliation Order (NRO) case.

Zardari, in his petition, contended that the court orders violate Articles 4 (right to be dealt in accordance with the law), 175 (jurisdiction of the court) and 187 (execution of the court’s orders) of the Constitution.

On July 4, the apex court summoned the details of foreign assets owned by all the respondents including Asif Ali Zardari, General (retd) Pervez Musharraf and former attorney general Justice (retd) Malik Qayyum in National Reconciliation Order (NRO) case.

The top court ordered all respondents to submit their affidavits declaring the details regarding their foreign bank accounts, offshore companies and those of their children as well.

The case background

Petitioner Feroz Shah Gilani had filed a petition in the Supreme Court nominating Pervez Musharraf, Asif Ali Zardari and former attorney general Malik Abdul Qayyum as respondents in the case.

The petitioner appealed that apex court should recover ‘huge amount of public money’ embezzled by the respondents through unlawful means ‘already on record in different judgments of the Supreme Court and high court’.

The petition held Musharraf accountable for subverting the Constitution and promulgating of the NRO through which criminal and corruption cases against politicians were ‘arbitrarily withdrawn’ causing massive financial losses to the national exchequer.