Government issues list of 8,041 names

ISLAMABAD: With the release of the first ever official list of those accused of robbing the masses blind, of killing and torturing adversaries, the ugly truth of abuse of power has a face. Eight thousand and forty one faces to be precise.
On Saturday, Minister of State for Law, Afzal Sindhu released the official list of the 8041 beneficiaries of the shameless law called the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).
Sindhu released the list of NRO beneficiaries including 248 politicians at a crowded press conference here. The highest number of NRO beneficiaries belong to the province of Sindh as 7,793 people have benefited from the ordinance there.
The prominent figures in the list are: President Asif Ali Zardari, Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar, Ambassador to United States Husain Haqqani, Ambassador to the UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Salman Faruqui, AR Siddiqui, Haji Nawaz Khokhar, Anwar Saifullah, Begum Nusrat Bhutto, Jehangir Badr, Rana Nazir, Chaudhry Abdul Hameed, Tariq Anis, Sardar Maqsood Leghari, Agha Siraj Durrani, Mushtaq Awan, Usman Faruqui, Brig Aslam Hayat and Brig Imtiaz.
Afzal Sindhu said persons who had been benefiting from NRO’s Article-2 in Sindh and in lieu of the Review Board, included MQM chief Altaf Hussain, Babar Ghauri, Ishratul Ebad Khan, Dr Imran Farooq, Nouman Sehgal, Dr Farooq Sattar, Saleem Shehzad, Kanwar Khalid Younis, and Safdar Baqri.
He said in Sindh, 7,793 people benefited from the ordinance. Adviser to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, Saeed Mehdi, is also among the NRO beneficiaries.
Likewise, he said political figures from the NWFP who benefited from the ordinance included former NWFP chief minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, Ghaniur Rehman, former provincial minister Haji Gul Sher Khan and former senator Habibullah Kundi.
“Similarly from Balochistan, Mir Baz Khan Khaitran also benefited from the ordinance. There were two cases against Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, but he has been acquitted in both cases. The name of his wife is not on the list,” he added.
The minister said many corruption cases were pending for decades. “Only one case was decided, after which three judges had to resign,” he added.
In reply to a question, he said NRO was brought to the Parliament on the orders of the Supreme Court, adding his party had always accepted court verdicts.
He said cases filed against the PPP leaders by the NAB during the tenure of Nawaz Sharif were totally based on political victimisation.
When asked that cases were also registered when Farooq Leghari was the president of Pakistan, he said he (Farooq) faced the repercussion as well.
“Despite being an elected MNA, Farooq Leghari even cannot dare to attend the session of the Parliament,” Sindhu added.
He said under Article 248 of the constitution, the president enjoyed immunity and no criminal case could be filed against him. “The president is the symbol of the federation and should be given the status of the president as well,” he added.