The National Assembly Standing Committee on Law approved the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), as the opposition made strong protests and boycotted the committee meeting.
The law committee approved the NRO after a hectic debate that spanned two consecutive days.
The committee passed all seven clauses of the controversial ordinance, and now the NRO will be taken up in the parliament to face its toughest challenge: to become part of Pakistani law.
Meanwhile, the committee proposed that civil or criminal cases should be removed under the ordinance only after permission by the concerned court of law.
Probably the strongest opponent of the NRO, the PML-Nawaz boycotted the meeting just before the final approval of the NRO. The PML-Q also staged a token walk-out over it.
The PML-N, led by leader of the opposition, Chaudhry Nisar, came out strongly against it, calling it a black law and saying that its passage will be a stigma on the parliament. The party also called the very composition of the law committee, which gave this approval, unconstitutional.
The ordinance enables the government to withdraw civil and criminal cases against anyone, filed between the period of January 1986 to October 1999.
Four out of seven clauses of the NRO were passed without any changes, two were withdrawn and one was amended.
The government withdrew the two clauses dealing with the formation of the Ethics Committees for parliamentarians and Members of the Provincial Assemblies (MPAs).
Originally, the NRO restricts the arrest of any parliamentarian or the MPA without the prior consent of the ethics committees.
The government proposed an amendment in Clause-7 of the NRO that court’s permission would be required before removing any criminal or civil case under the NRO.
Now the government plans to pass the NRO from the Parliament next month. But the opposition pledges to frustrate the move to get the NRO passed.
The opposition also says that the option of approaching the Supreme Court against the NRO is also open.
The law committee approved the NRO after a hectic debate that spanned two consecutive days.
The committee passed all seven clauses of the controversial ordinance, and now the NRO will be taken up in the parliament to face its toughest challenge: to become part of Pakistani law.
Meanwhile, the committee proposed that civil or criminal cases should be removed under the ordinance only after permission by the concerned court of law.
Probably the strongest opponent of the NRO, the PML-Nawaz boycotted the meeting just before the final approval of the NRO. The PML-Q also staged a token walk-out over it.
The PML-N, led by leader of the opposition, Chaudhry Nisar, came out strongly against it, calling it a black law and saying that its passage will be a stigma on the parliament. The party also called the very composition of the law committee, which gave this approval, unconstitutional.
The ordinance enables the government to withdraw civil and criminal cases against anyone, filed between the period of January 1986 to October 1999.
Four out of seven clauses of the NRO were passed without any changes, two were withdrawn and one was amended.
The government withdrew the two clauses dealing with the formation of the Ethics Committees for parliamentarians and Members of the Provincial Assemblies (MPAs).
Originally, the NRO restricts the arrest of any parliamentarian or the MPA without the prior consent of the ethics committees.
The government proposed an amendment in Clause-7 of the NRO that court’s permission would be required before removing any criminal or civil case under the NRO.
Now the government plans to pass the NRO from the Parliament next month. But the opposition pledges to frustrate the move to get the NRO passed.
The opposition also says that the option of approaching the Supreme Court against the NRO is also open.
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