The Top 50 Defaulters

The State Bank counsel presented a list of loan defaulters before the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The list includes 50 top defaulters. The list contained names like Eurogulf Enterprises, Younus Habib, West Pakistan Tank Terminal Rs 1977.38 million, Mercury Garments Industries Rs 1565.89 million, Siraj Steels Ltd Muridke 1412.66 million, Spinning Machinery Co Rs 1387.60 million, Saad Cement Ltd Karachi 1265.97 million, Pakistan National Textile Rs 1,166.45 million, Mehr Dastagir Spinning Mills Rs 1,160.5 million, Mohib Textile Mills Rs 1,117.49 million, Redco Textiles Ltd Rs 1,116.77 million, Chaudhry Cables Rs 1,050.58 million, Abdullah S Al Rajhiest Rs 1,031.90 million, Quality Steel Works Rs 981.60 million, Mekran Fisheries Rs 960.12 million, Kohinoor Looms Rs 945.41 million, Aziz Spinning Rs 864.95 million, Farooq Habib Textile Rs 827.15 million, Northern Polythene Rs 825.59 million, Firdous Spinning Mills Rs 780.14 million, Balochistan Foundary Ltd Rs 663.54 million, Tawakkal Group of Industries Rs 642.22 million, Mian Muhammad Sugar Mills Rs 584.90 million, Punjab Cooperative Board for Liquidation Rs 538.23 million, Pakpattan Dairies Rs 467.12 million, Adamjee Industries Rs 448.84 million, Karachi Property Investment Rs 1003.19 million, AH International Private Limited Rs 901.21 million, Coral Cast Ltd Rs 900.92 million, Rashi Testile Mills Rs 859.17 million, Muhammad Ibrahim Murad Rs 748.15 million, Metropolitan Steel Rs 747.67 million, Tristar Polyester Ltd Rs 737.02 million, Bindder Insad Tourism Rs 734.44 million, Commodore Industries Rs 722.76 million, Target Readymade Garments Rs 696.46 million, First Tawakal Muzarba Rs 628.65 million, Synthetic Leather Industries Rs 620.56 million, Nabchoon Garments Factory Rs 597.52 million, Golden Textile Mills Rs 589.72 million, Saadi Cement Rs 584.11 million, Service Fabrics Ltd Rs 571.23 million, Glamour Textile Mills Rs 533.88 million, Punjab Road Transport Corporation 524.15 million, Ravi Agri Dairy Products 509.73 million, Pakistan Concrete Rs 477.70 million, AlJamia & Alquasi Trading Rs 462.67 million, Apparel Trading Establishment Rs 454 million, Fabri Tex Limited Rs 454.32 million. (Detail)

18th Amendment in the Constitution

Further to amend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan WHEREAS it is expedient further to amend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the purposes hereinafter appearing;
AND WHEREAS the people of Pakistan have relentlessly struggled for democracy and for attaining the ideals of a Federal, Islamic, democratic, parliamentary and modern progressive welfare State, wherein the rights of the citizens are secured and the Provinces have equitable share in the Federation;
AND WHEREAS it is necessary that the Legal Framework Order, 2002, as amended by the Chief Executive's Order No. 29 and the Chief Executive's Order No. 32 of 2002, be declared as having been made without lawful authority and of no legal effect, and the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003 (Act No. 111 of 2003), be repealed and the Constitution further amended to achieve the aforesaid objectives; It is hereby enacted as follows:
1. Short title and, commencement: (1) This Act may be called the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010.
(2) It shall come into force at once, save as otherwise provided in this Act.
2. Repeal, etc.- Subject to Article 264 and the provisions of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010, (a) the Legal Framework Order, 2402 (Chief Executive's Order No. 24 of 2002), the Legal Framework (Amendment) Order, 2002 (Chief Executive's Order No. 29 of 2002) and the Legal Framework (Second Amendment) Order, 2002 (Chief Executive's Order No. 32 of 2002), are hereby declared to have been, made without lawful authority and of no legal effect and, therefore, shall stand repealed; and (b} the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003 (Act No. III of 2003), is hereby repealed.
3. Amendment of Article 1 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, hereinafter referred to as the Constitution, in Article 1, in clause (2), in paragraph (a), for the word "Baluchistan" the word "Balochistan", for the words "North West Frontier" the words "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa", and for the word "Sind" the word "Sindh", shall be substituted.
4. Amendment of Article 6 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 6, (i) for clause (1), the following shall be substituted, namely: "(1) Any person who abrogates or subverts or suspends or holds in abeyance, or attempts or conspires to abrogate or subvert or suspend or hold in abeyance, the Constitution by use of force or show of force or by any other unconstitutional means shall be guilty of high treason.
(ii) in clause (2), after the word "abetting" the word "or collaborating" shall be inserted; and (iii) after clause (2) amended as aforesaid, the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:-
(2A). An act of high treason mentioned in clause (1) or clause (2) shall not be validated by any court including the Supreme Court and a High Court.".
5. Insertion of new Article in the Constitution: In the Constitution, after Article 10, the following new Article shall be inserted, namely: "10A. Right to fair trial.- For the determination of his civil rights and obligations or in any criminal charge against him a person shall be entitled to a fair trial and due process."
6. Substitution of Article 17 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 17, the following shall be substituted, namely: "17. Freedom of association. (1) Every citizen shall have the right to form associations or unions, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan, public order or morality.
(2) Every citizen, not being in the service of Pakistan, shall have the right to form or, be a member of a political party, subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interest of the sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan and such law shall provide that where the Federal Government declares that any political party has been formed or is operating in a manner prejudicial to the sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan, the Federal Government shall, within fifteen days of such declaration, refer the matter to the Supreme Court whose decision on such reference shall be final.
(3) Every political party shall account for the source of its funds in accordance with law.".
7.Insertion of new Article in the Constitution.- In the Constitution, after Article 19, the following new Article shall be inserted, namely: "19A. Right to information.- Every citizen shall have the right to have access to information in all matters of public importance subject to regulation and reasonable restrictions imposed by law".
8.Amendment of Article 25 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 25, in clause (2), the word "alone" occurring at the end shall be omitted.
9. Insertion of new Article in the Constitution.- In the Constitution, after Article 25, the following new Article shall be inserted, namely: "25A. Right to education.-The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such manner as may be determined by law.".
10. Amendment of Article 27 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 27, in clause (1), in the second proviso, for the full stop at the end a colon shall be substituted and thereafter the following proviso shall be inserted, namely: "Provided-also that under-representation of any class or area in the service of Pakistan may be redressed in such manner as may be determined by an Act of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)".
11. Amendment of Article 29 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 29, in clause (3), for the word "the National Assembly" occurring for the first time the wards and brackets, "each House of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)" shall be substituted and after the word "National Assembly" occurring for the second time the words "and the Senate" shall be inserted.
12. Amendment of Article 38 of the Constitution,- In the Constitution, in Article 38,- (i) in paragraph (e), the world "and" at the end shall be omitted; (ii) in paragraph (f), for the full stop at the end a semicolon and the word ";and" shall be added and after paragraph (f) amended as aforesaid, the following new paragraph shall be added, namely:- "(g) the shares of the Provinces in all federal services, including autonomous bodies and corporations established by, or under the control of, the Federal Government, shall be secured and any omission in the allocation of the shares of the Provinces in the past shall be rectified.".
13. Amendment of Article 41 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 41,- (i) in clause (3), the words, brackets and figure "to be elected after the term specified in clause (7)" shall be omitted; and (ii) clauses (7), (8) and (9) shall be omitted.
14. Substitution of Article 46 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 46, the following shall be substituted namely:- "46. President to be kept informed.- The Prime Minister shall keep the President informed on all matters of internal and foreign policy and on all legislative proposals the Federal Government intends to bring before Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament)".
15. Amendment of Article 48 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 48,- (i) In clause (1),- (a) after the word "act" the words "on and" shall be inserted; and (b) in the proviso, after the word "that" the words "within fifteen days" shall be inserted and after the word "shall" the commas and words ",within ten days," shall be inserted; and (ii) for clause (5) the following shall be substituted, namely: - "(5) Where the President dissolves the National Assembly, notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1), he shall,- (a) appoint a date, not later than ninety days from the date of the dissolution, for the holding of a general election to the Assembly; and (b) appoint a care-taker Cabinet.".
(iii) for clause (6) the following shall be substituted, namely: - "(6). If at any time the Prime Minister considers it necessary to hold a referendum on any matter of national importance, he may refer the matter to a joint sitting of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) and if it is approved in a joint sitting, the Prime Minister may cause such matter to be referred to a referendum in the form of a question that is capable of being answered by either "Yes" or "No".
16. Substitution of Article 51 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 51, the following shall be substituted and shall be deemed always to have been so substituted with effect from the 21st day of August, 2002, namely:- "51. National Assembly.-(1) There shall be three hundred and forty-two seats for members in the National Assembly, including seats reserved for women and non-Muslims.
(2) A person shall be entitled to vote if- (a) he is a citizen of Pakistan; (b) he is not less than eighteen years of age; (c) his name appears on the electoral roll; and (d) he is not declared by a competent court to be of unsound mind.
(3) The seats in the National Assembly referred to in clause
(1), except as provided in clause (4), shall be allocated to each Province, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Federal Capital as under:-
General Seats Women Total
Balochistan 14 3 17
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 35 8 43
Punjab 148 35 183
Sindh 61 14 75
Federally Administered 12 - 12
Tribal Areas
Federal Capital 2 - 2
Total 272 60 332
(4) In addition to the number of seats referred to in clause (3), there shall be, in the National Assembly, ten seats reserved for non-Muslims.
(5) The seats in the National Assembly shall be allocated to each Province, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the Federal Capital on the basis of population in accordance with the last preceding census officially published.
(6) For the purpose of election to the National Assembly,- (a) the constituencies for the general seats shall be single member territorial constituencies and the members to fill such seats shall be elected by direct and free vote in accordance with law, (b) each Province shall be a single constituency for all seats reserved for women which are allocated to the respective Provinces under clause (3); (c) the constituency for all seats reserved for non-Muslims shall be the whole country; (d) members to the-seats reserved for women which are allocated to a Province under clause (3) shall be elected in accordance with law through proportional representation system of political parties' lists of candidates on the basis of total number of general seats secured by each political party from the Province concerned in the National Assembly: Provided that for the purpose of this paragraph the total number of general seats won by a political party shall include the independent returned candidate or candidates who may duly join such political party within three days of the publication in the official Gazette of the names of the returned candidates; (e) members to the seats reserved for non-Muslims shall be elected in accordance with law through proportional representation system of political parties' lists of candidates on the basis of total number of general seats won by each political party in the National Assembly: Provided that for the purpose of this paragraph the total number of general seats won by a political party shall include the independent returned candidate or candidates who may duly join such political party within three days of the publication in the official Gazette of the names of the returned candidates."
17. Substitution of Article 58 of the Constitution. - In the Constitution, for Article 58, the following shall be substituted, namely:- "58. Dissolution of the National Assembly.- (1) The President shall dissolve the National Assembly if so advised by the Prime Minister; and the National Assembly shall, unless sooner dissolved, stand dissolved at the expiration of forty-eight hours after the Prime Minister has so advised.
Explanation.- Reference in this Article to "Prime Minister", shall not be construed to include reference to a Prime Minister against whom a notice of a resolution for a vote of no-confidence has been given in the National Assembly but has not been voted upon or against whom such a resolution has been passed or who is continuing in office after his resignation or after the dissolution of the National Assembly.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (2) of Article 48, the President may also dissolve the National Assembly in his discretion where, a vote of no-confidence having been passed against the Prime Minister, no other member of the National Assembly commands the confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, as ascertained in a session of the National Assembly summoned for the purpose.".
18. Substitution of Article 59 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 59, the following shall be substituted, namely: "59. The Senate.- (1) The Senate shall consist of one-hundred and four members, of whom,- (a) fourteen shall be elected by the members of each Provincial Assembly; (b) eight shall be elected from the Federally, Administered Tribal Areas, in such manner as the President may, by Order, prescribe; (c) two on general seats, and one woman and one technocrat including aalim shall be elected from the Federal Capital in such manner as the President may, by Order, prescribe; (d) four women shall be elected by the members of each Provincial Assembly; (e) four technocrats including ulema shall be elected by the members of each Provincial Assembly; and (f) four non-Muslims, one from each Province, shall be elected by the members of each Provincial Assembly: Provided that paragraph (f) shall be effective from the next Senate election after the commencement of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010.
(2) Election to fill seats in the Senate allocated to each Province shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
(3) The Senate shall not be subject to dissolution but the term of its members, who shall retire as follows, shall be six years:- (a) of the members referred to in paragraph (a) of clause (1), seven shall retire after the expiration of the first three years and seven shall retire after the expiration of the next three years; (b) of the members referred to in paragraph (b) of the aforesaid clause, four shall retire after the expiration of the first three years and four shall retire after the expiration of the next three years; (c) of the members referred to in paragraph (c) of the aforesaid clause,- (i) one elected on general seat shall retire after the expiration of the first three years and the other one shall retire after the expiration of the next three years; and (ii) one elected on the seat reserved for technocrat shall retire after first three years and the one elected on the seat reserved for women shall retire after the expiration of the next three years; (d) of the members referred to in paragraph (d) of the aforesaid clause, two shall retire after the expiration of the first three years and two shall retire after the expiration of the next three years; (e) of the members referred to in paragraph (e) of the aforesaid clause, two shall retire after the expiration of the first three years and two shall retire after the expiration of the next three years; and (f) of the members referred to in paragraph (f) of the aforesaid clause, two shall retire after the expiration of first three years and two shall retire after the expiration of next three years: Provided that the Election Commission for the first term of seats for non-Muslims shall draw a lot as to which two members shall retire after the first three years.
(4) The term of office of a person elected to fill a casual vacancy shall be the unexpired term of the member whose vacancy he has filled.
19. Amendment of Article 61 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 61, for the word "ninety" the words "one hundred and ten" shall be substituted.
20. Substitution of Article 62 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 62, the following shall be substituted, namely: - "62. Qualifications for membership of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament).- (1)A person shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) unless- (a) he is a citizen of Pakistan; (b) he is, in the case of the National Assembly, not less than twenty- five years of age and is enrolled as a voter in any electoral roll in- (i) any part of Pakistan, for election to a general seat or a . seat reserved for a non-Muslims; and (ii) any area in a Province from which she seeks membership for election to a seat reserved for women.
(c) he is, in the case of the Senate, not less than thirty years of age and is enrolled as a voter in any area in a Province or, as the case may be, the Federal Capital or the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, from where he seeks membership; (d) he is of good character and is not commonly known as one who violates Islamic Injunctions; (e) he has adequate knowledge of Islamic teachings and practices obligatory duties prescribed by Islam as well as well abstains from major sins; (f) he is sagacious, righteous, non-profligate, honest and ameen, there being no declaration to the contrary by a court of law; (g) he has not, after the establishment of Pakistan, worked against the integrity of the country or opposed the ideology of Pakistan: (2) The disqualifications specified in paragraphs (d) and (e) shall not apply to a person who is a non-Muslim, but such a person shall have good moral reputation;".
21. Substitution of Article 63 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 63, the following shall be substituted, namely,- "63. Disqualifications for membership of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament). (1) A person shall be disqualified from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), (a) he is of unsound mind and has been so declared by a competent court; or (b) he is an undischarged insolvent; or (c) he ceases to be a citizen of Pakistan, or acquires the citizenship of a foreign State; or (d) he holds an office of profit in the service of Pakistan other than an office declared by law not to disqualify its holder; or (e) he is in the service of any statutory body or any body which is owned or controlled by the Government or in which the Government has a controlling share or interest; or (f) being a citizen of Pakistan by virtue of section 14B of the Pakistan Citizenship Act, 1951 (II of 1951), he is for the time being disqualified under any law in force in Azad Jammu and Kashmir from being elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir; or (g) he has been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction for propagating any opinion, or acting in any manner, prejudicial to the ideology of Pakistan, or the sovereignty, integrity or security of Pakistan, or the integrity or independence of the judiciary of Pakistan, or which defames or brings into ridicule the judiciary or the Armed Forces of Pakistan, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release; or (h) he has been, on conviction for any offence involving moral turpitude, sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his release; or (i) he has been dismissed from the service of Pakistan or service of a corporation or office set up or, controlled, by the Federal Government, Provincial Government or a Local Government on the ground of misconduct, unless a period of five years has elapsed since his dismissal; or (j) he has been removed or compulsorily retired from the service of Pakistan or service of a corporation or office set up or controlled by the Federal Government, Provincial Government or a Local Government on the ground of misconduct, unless a period of three years has elapsed since his removal or compulsory retirement; or (k) he has been in the service of Pakistan or of any statutory body or any body which is owned or controlled by the Government or in which the Government has a controlling share or interest, unless a period of two years has elapsed since he ceased to be in such service; or (I) he, whether by himself or by any person or body of persons in trust for him or for his benefit or on his account or as a member of a Hindu undivided family, has any share or interest in a contract, not being a contract between a cooperative society and Government, for the supply of goods to, or for the execution of any contract or for the performance of any service undertaken by, Government: Provided that the disqualification under this paragraph shall not apply to a person- (i) where the share or interest in the contract devolves on him by inheritance or succession or as a legatee, executor or administrator, until the expiration of six months after it has so devolved on him; (ii) where the contract has been entered into by or on behalf of a public company as defined in the Companies Ordinance, 1984 & (XLVII of 1984), of which he is a shareholder but is not a director holding an office of profit under the company; or (iii) where he is a member of a Hindu undivided family and the contract has been entered into by any other member of that family in the course of carrying on a separate business in which he has no share or interest; or Explanation. -In this Article "goods" does not include agricultural produce or commodity grown or produced by him or such goods as he is, under any directive of Government or any law for the time being in force, under a duty or obligation to supply.
(m) he holds any office of profit in the service of Pakistan other than the following offices, namely:- (i) an office which is not whole time office remunerated either by salary or by fee; (ii) the office of Lumbardar, whether called by this or any other title; (iii) the Qaumi Razakars; (iv) any office the holder whereof, by virtue of such office, is liable to be called up for military training or military service under any law providing for the constitution or raising of a Force; or (n) he has obtained a loan for an amount of two million rupees or more, from any bank, financial institution, cooperative society or cooperative body in his own name or in the name of his spouse or any of his dependents, which remains unpaid for more than one year from the due date, or has got such loan written off; or (o) he or his spouse or any of his dependents has defaulted in payment of government dues and utility expenses, including .telephone, electricity, gas and water charges in excess of ten thousand rupees, for over six months, at the time of filing his nomination papers; or (p) he is for the time being disqualified from being elected or chosen as a member of a Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) or of Provincial Assembly under any law for the time being inforce.
Explanation.-For the purposes of this paragraph "law" shall not include an Ordinance promulgated under Article 89 or Article 128.
(2) If any question arises whether a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) has become disqualified from being a member, the Speaker or, as the case may be, the Chairman, shall, unless he decides that no such question has arisen, refer the question to the Election Commission within thirty days and should he fail to do so within the aforesaid period it shall be deemed to have been referred to the Election Commission.
(3) The Election Commission shall decide the question within ninety days from its receipt or deemed to have been received and if it is of the opinion that the member has become disqualified, he shall cease to be a member and his seat shall become vacant.".
22. Substitution of Article 63A of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 63A, the following shall be substituted, namely:- " 63A. Disqualification on grounds of defection, etc.-(l) If a member of a Parliamentary Party composed of a single political party in a House- (a) resigns from membership of his political party or joins another Parliamentary Party; or (b) votes or abstains from voting in the House contrary to any direction issued by the Parliamentary Party to which he belongs, in relation to- (i) election of the Prime Minister or the Chief Minister; or (ii) a vote of confidence or a vote of no-confidence; or (iii) a Money Bill or a Constitution (Amendment) Bill; he may be declared in writing by the Party Head to have defected from the political party, and the Party Head may forward a copy of the declaration to the Presiding Officer and the Chief Election Commissioner and shall similarly forward a copy thereof to the member concerned: Provided that before making the declaration, the Party Head shall provide such member with an opportunity to show cause as to why such declaration may not be made against him.
Explanation.- "Party Head" means any person, by whatever name called, declared as such by the Party.
(2) A member of a House shall be deemed to be a member of a Parliamentary Party if he, having been elected as a candidate or nominee of a political party which constitutes the Parliamentary Party in the House or, having been elected otherwise than as a candidate or nominee of a political party, has become a member of such Parliamentary Party after such election by means of a declaration in writing.
(3) Upon receipt of the declaration under clause (1), the Presiding Officer of the House shall within two days refer, and in case he fails to do so it shall be deemed that he has referred, the declaration to the Chief Election Commissioner who shall lay the declaration before the Election Commission for its decision thereon confirming the declaration or otherwise within thirty days of its receipt by the Chief Election Commissioner.
(4) Where the Election Commission confirms the declaration, the member referred to in clause (1) shall cease to be a member of the House and his seat shall become vacant.
(5) Any party aggrieved by the decision of the Election Commission may, within thirty days, prefer an appeal to the Supreme Court which shall decide the matter within ninety days from the date of the filing of the appeal.
(6) Nothing contained in this Article shall apply to the Chairman or Speaker of a House.
(7) For the purpose of this Article,- (a) "House" means the National Assembly or the Senate, in relation to the Federation; and a Provincial Assembly in relation to the Province, as the case may be; (b) "Presiding Officer" means the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Chairman of the Senate or the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly, as the case may be.
(8) Article 63A substituted as aforesaid shall come into effect from the next general elections to be held after the commencement of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010: Provided that till Article 63A substituted as aforesaid comes into effect the provisions of existing Article 63A shall remain operative."
23. Substitution of Article 70 of the Constitution. - In the Constitution, for Article 70, the following shall be substituted, namely:- "70. Introduction and passing of Bills. (1) A Bill with respect to any matter in the Federal Legislative List may originate in either House and shall, if it is passed by the House in which it originated, be transmitted to the other House; and, if the Bill is passed without amendment by the other House also, it shall be presented to the President for assent.
(2) If a Bill transmitted to a House under clause (1) is passed with amendments it shall be sent back to the House in which it originated and if that House passes the Bill with those amendments it shall be presented to the President for assent.
(3) If a Bill transmitted to a House under clause (1) is rejected or is not passed within ninety days of its laying in the House or a Bill sent to a House under clause (2) with amendments is not passed by that House with such amendments, the Bill, at the request of the House in which it originated, shall be considered in a joint sitting and if passed by the votes of the majority of the members present and voting in the joint sitting it shall be presented to the President for assent.
(4) In this Article and the succeeding provisions of the Constitution, "Federal Legislative List" means the Federal Legislative List in the Fourth Schedule."
24. Omission of Article 71 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, Article 71 shall be omitted.
25. Amendment of Article 73 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 73, - (i) For clause (1) the following shall be substituted, namely:- "(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in Article 70,, a Money Bill shall originate in the National Assembly: Provided that simultaneously when a Money Bill, including the Finance Bill containing the Annual Budget Statement, is presented in the National Assembly, a copy thereof shall be transmitted to the Senate which may, within fourteen days, make recommendations thereon to the National Assembly."; and (ii) after clause (1) substituted as aforesaid, the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:- "(1A) The National Assembly shall, consider the recommendations of the Senate and after the Bill has been' passed by the Assembly with or without incorporating the recommendations of the Senate, it shall be presented to the President for assent.".
26. Amendment of Article 75 of the Constitution. - In the Constitution, in Article 75,- (i) in clause (1), for the word "thirty", the word "ten" shall be substituted; (ii) for clause (2), the following shall be substituted, namely:-"(2) When the President has returned a Bill to the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), it shall be reconsidered by the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) in joint sitting and, if it is again passed, with or without amendment, by the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), by the votes of the majority of the members of both Houses present and voting, it shall be deemed for the purposes of the Constitution to have been passed by both Houses and shall be presented to the President, and the President shall give his assent within ten days, failing which such assent shall be deemed to have been given." ; and (iii) in clause (3), after the word "assented", the words "or is deemed to have assented", shall be inserted.
27. Amendment of Article 89 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 89,- (i) in clause (1), before the words "National Assembly" the words "Senate or" shall be inserted; (ii) in clause (2), in paragraph (a),- (a) in sub-paragraph (i), for the words "four months" the words "one hundred and twenty days" shall be substituted; and for the semi-colon at the end a colon shall be substituted and thereafter the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:- "Provided that the National Assembly may, .by a resolution extend the Ordinance for a further period of one hundred and twenty days and it shall stand repealed at the expiration of the extended period, or if before the expiration of that period a resolution disapproving it is passed by the Assembly, upon the passing of that resolution: Provided further that extension for further period may be made only once."; and (b) in sub-paragraph (ii), for the words "four months" the words "one hundred and twenty days" shall be substituted and for the semi-colon and the word ";and " at the end a colon shall be substituted and thereafter the following provisos shall be inserted , namely:- Provided that either House may by a resolution extend it for a further period of one hundred and twenty days and it shall stand repealed at the expiration of the extended period, or if before the expiration of that period a resolution disapproving it is passed by a House, upon the passing of that resolution: Provided further that extension for a further period may be made only once.
(iii) for clause (3), the following shall be substituted, namely: - "(3) without prejudice to the provisions of clause (2),-" (a) an Ordinance laid before the National Assembly under sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (a) of clause (2) shall be deemed to be a Bill introduced in the National Assembly; and (b) an Ordinance laid before both Houses under sub-paragraph(ii) of paragraph (a) of clause (2) shall be deemed to be a Bill introduced in the House where it was first laid.".
28. Substitution of Article 90 of the Constitution. - In the Constitution, for Article 90, the following shall be substituted, namely:- "90. The Federal Government.- (1) Subject to the Constitution, the executive authority of the Federation shall be exercised in the name of the President by the Federal Government, consisting of the Prime Minister and the Federal Ministers, which shall act through the Prime Minister, who shall be the chief executive of the Federation. (2) In the performance of his functions under the Constitution, the Prime Minster may act either directly or through the Federal Ministers.".
29. Substitution of Article 91 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 91, the following shall be substituted, namely: - "91. The Cabinet- (1) There shall be a Cabinet of Ministers, with the Prime Minister at its head, to aid and advise the President in the exercise of his functions.
(2) The National Assembly shall meet on the twenty-first day following the day on which a general election to the Assembly is held, unless sooner summoned by the President. t (3) After the election of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, the National Assembly shall, to the exclusion of any other business, proceed to elect without debate one of its Muslim members to be the Prime Minister.
(4) The Prime Minister shall be elected by the votes of the majority of the total membership of the National Assembly: Provided that, if no member secures such majority in the first poll, a second poll shall be held between the members who secure the two highest numbers of votes in the first poll and the member who secures a majority of votes of the members present and voting shall be declared to have been elected as Prime Minister: Provided further that, if the number of votes secured by two or more members securing the highest number of votes is equal, further poll shall be held between them until one of them secures a majority of votes of the members present and voting.
(5) The member elected under clause (4) shall be called upon by the President to assume the office of Prime Minister and he shall, before entering upon the office, make before the President oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule: Provided that there shall be no restriction on the number of terms for the office of the Prime Minister.
(6) The Cabinet, together with the Ministers of State, shall be collectively responsible to the Senate and the National Assembly.
(7) The Prime Minister shall hold office during the pleasure of the President, but the President shall not exercise his powers under this clause unless he is satisfied that the Prime Minister does not command the confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly, in which case he shall summon the National Assembly and require the Prime Minister to obtain a vote of confidence from the Assembly.
(8) The Prime Minister may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his office.
(9) A Minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the National Assembly shall, at the expiration of that period, cease to be a Minister and shall not before the dissolution of that Assembly be again appointed a Minister unless he is elected a member of that Assembly: Provided that nothing contained in this clause shall apply to a Minister who is member of the Senate.
(10) Nothing contained in this Article shall be construed as disqualifying the Prime Minister or any other Minister or a Minister of State for continuing in office during any period during which the National Assembly stands dissolved, or as preventing the appointment of any person as Prime Minister or other Minister or a Minister of State during any such period." 30. Amendment of Article 92 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 92, in clause (1),- (i) for the brackets and figures "(7) and (8)" the brackets and figures "(9) and (10)" shall be substituted; "175A. Appointment of Judges to the Supreme Court, High Courts and the Federal Shariat Court- (1) There shall be a Judicial Commission of Pakistan, hereinafter in this Article referred to as the Commission, for appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court, High Courts and the Federal Shariat Court, as hereinafter provided.
(2) For appointment of Judges of the Supreme Court, the Commission shall consist of (i) Chief Justice of Pakistan; Chairman (ii) two most senior Judges of the Supreme Court; Members (iii) a former Chief Justice or a former Judge Member of the Supreme Court of Pakistan to be nominated by the Chief Justice of Pakistan, in consultation with the two member Judges, for a period of two years: (iv) Federal Minister for Law and Justice; Member (v) Attorney-General for Pakistan; and Member (vi) a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Member Pakistan nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council for a term of two years.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1) or clause {2), the President shall appoint the most senior Judge of the Supreme Court as the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
(4) The Commission may make rules regulating its procedure.
(5) For appointment of Judges of a High Court, the Commission in clause (2) shall also include the following, namely:- (i) Chief Justice of the High Court to which the Member appointment is being made; (ii) the most senior Judge of that High Court; Member - (iii) Provincial Minister for Law; and Member (iv) a senior advocate to be nominated Member by the Provincial Bar Council for a period of two years: Provided that for appointment of the Chief Justice of a High Court, the most senior Judge of the Court shall be substituted by a former Chief Justice or former Judge of that Court, to be nominated by the Chief Justice of Pakistan in consultation with the two member Judges of the Commission mentioned in clause (2): Provided further that if for any reason the Chief Justice of High Court is not available, -he shall also be substituted in the manner as provided in the foregoing proviso.
(6) For appointment of Judges of the Islamabad High Court, the Commission in clause (2) shall also include the following, namely:- (i) Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court; and Member (ii) the most senior Judge of that High Court: Member Provided that for initial appointment of the Judges of the Islamabad High Court, the Chief Justices of the four Provincial High Courts shall also be members of the Commission: Provided further that subject to the foregoing proviso, in case of appointment of Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court, the provisos to clause (5) shall, mutatis mutandis, apply.
(7) For appointment of Judges of the Federal Shariat Court, the Commission in clause (2) shall also include the Chief Justice of the Federal Shariat Court and the most senior Judge of that Court as its members: Provided that for appointment of Chief Justice of Federal Shariat Court, the provisos to clause (5) shall, mutatis mutandis, apply. (8) The Commission by majority of its total membership shall nominate to the Parliamentary Committee one person, for each vacancy of a Judge in the Supreme Court, a High Court or the Federal Shariat Court, as the case may be; (9) The Parliamentary Committee, hereinafter in this Article referred to as the Committee, shall consist of the following eight members, namely:- (i) four members from the Senate; and (ii) four members from the National Assembly.
(10) Out of the eight members of the Committee, four shall be from the.
Treasury Benches, two from each House and four from the Opposition Benches, two from each House. The nomination of members from the Treasury Benches shall be made by the Leader of the House and from the Opposition Benches by the Leader of the Opposition.
(11) Secretary, Senate shall act as the Secretary of the Committee.
(12) The Committee on receipt of a nomination from the Commission may confirm the nominee by majority of its total membership within fourteen days, failing which the nomination shall be deemed to have been confirmed: Provided that the Committee may not confirm the nomination by three-fourth majority of its total membership within the said period, in which case the Commission shall send another nomination.
(13) The Committee shall forward the name of the nominee confirmed by it or deemed to have been confirmed to the President for appointment.
(14) No action or decision taken by the Commission or a Committee shall be invalid or called in question only on the ground of the existence of a vacancy therein or of the absence of any member from any meeting thereof.
(15) The Committee may make rules for regulating its procedure.
68. Amendment of Article 177 of the Constitution. - In the Constitution, in Article 177, for clause (1) the following shall be substituted, namely:- "(1) The Chief Justice of Pakistan and each of the other Judges of the Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President in accordance with Article 175A.".
69. Amendment of Article 193 of the Constitution. - In the Constitution, in Article 193,- (i) for clause (1), the following shall be substituted, namely:- "(1) The Chief Justice and each of other Judges of a High Court shall be appointed by the President in accordance with Article 175 A." (ii) in clause (2), for the word "forty" the word "forty-five" shall be substituted and shall be deemed always to have been so substituted with effect from the 21st day of August, 2002.
70. Amendment of Article 194 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 194, for the full stop at the end a colon shall be substituted and thereafter the following proviso shall be added, namely:- "Provided that the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court shall make oath before the President and other Judges of that Court shall make oath before the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court.".
71. Amendment of Article 198 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 198,- (i) after clause (1), the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:- "(1 A) The High Court for Islamabad Capital Territory shall have its principal seat at Islamabad." (ii) in clause (3),- (a) after the word Abbottabad, the comma and the word ",Mingora"shall be inserted ; and (b) after the word " Sibi " occurring at the end, the words "and Turbat" shall be added.
72. Amendment of Article 199 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 199, for clause (4A), the following shall be substituted, namely,- "(4A) An interim order made by a High Court on an application made to it to.question the validity or legal effect of any order made, proceeding taken or act done by any authority or person, which has been made, taken or done or purports to have been made, taken or done under any law which is specified in Part I of the First Schedule or relates to, or is connected with, State property or assessment or collection of public revenues shall cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of six months following the day on which it is made: Provided that the matter shall be finally decided by the High Court within six months from the date on which the interim order is made.".
73. Amendment of Article 200 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 200,- (i) in clause (1), the proviso shall be omitted; and (ii) clause (4) shall be omitted.
74. Amendment of Article 203C of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 203C, (i) in clause (2), after the word "President" occurring at the end the words, figures and letters "in accordance with Article 175A" shall be inserted; (ii) in clause (3A), for the words "who are well-versed in Islamic law" the words and comma "having at least fifteen years experience in Islamic law, research or instruction" shall be substituted; (iii) in clause (4), in the proviso, the words "for a period exceeding two years" shall be omitted; (iv) for clause (4B) the following shall be substituted, namely:- "(4B) The Chief Justice and a Judge shall not be removed from office except in the like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme Court."; and (v) clause (4C) and clause (5) shall be omitted.
(vi) for clause (9), the following shall be substituted and deemed always to have been so substituted with effect from the 21st day of August, 2002, namely:- "(9) A Chief Justice who is not a Judge of the Supreme Court shall be entitled to the same remuneration, allowances and privileges as are admissible to a Judge of the Supreme Court and a Judge who is not a Judge of a High Court shall be entitled to the same remuneration, allowances and privileges as are admissible to a Judge of a High Court: Provided that where a Judge is already' drawing a pension for any other post in the service of Pakistan, the amount of such pension shall be deducted from the pension admissible under this clause.".
75. Amendment of Article 203D of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 203D, in clause (1A), the words "or the Concurrent Legislative List" shall be omitted and for the words "in either of those lists" the words "in the Federal Legislative List" shall be substituted.
76. Amendment of Article 209 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 209, for clause (5) the following shall be substituted, namely: - "(5) If, on information from any source, the Council Or the President is of the opinion that a Judge of the Supreme Court or of a High Court- (a) may be incapable of properly performing the duties of his office by reason of physical or mental incapacity; or (b) may have been guilty of misconduct, the President shall direct the Council to, or the Council may, on its own motion, inquire into the matter.".
77. Amendment of Article 213 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 213,- (i) In clause (1), the words "in his discretion" shall be omitted; (ii) after clause (2), the following new clauses shall be inserted, namely:- "(2A). The Prime Minister shall in consultation with the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, forward three names for appointment of the Commissioner to a Parliamentary Committee for hearing and confirmation of any one person.
(2B) The Parliamentary Committee to be constituted by the Speaker shall comprise fifty percent members from the Treasury Benches and fifty percent from the Opposition Parties, based on their strength in Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), to be nominated by the respective Parliamentary Leaders: Provided that in case there is no consensus between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, each shall forward separate lists to the Parliamentary Committee for consideration which may confirm any one name: Provided further that the total strength of the Parliamentary Committee shall not exceed twelve members out of which one-third shall be from the Senate: Provided also that when the National Assembly is dissolved and a vacancy occurs in the office of the Chief Election Commissioner, the Parliamentary Committee shall, comprise the members from the Senate only and the foregoing provisions of this clause shall, mutatis mutandis, apply.".
78- Amendment of Article 215 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 215, in clause (1),- (i) for the word "three" the word "five" shall be substituted and thereafter the following proviso shall be inserted, namely: - "Provided that the aforesaid amendment shall be effective after the expiry of current tenure of the present incumbent; and (ii) the existing proviso shall be omitted.
79. Amendment of Article 216 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 216, in clause (2), in the proviso,- (i) in paragraph (a), for the semicolon and the word ",and" a full stop shall be substituted; and (ii) paragraph (b) shall be omitted.
80. Amendment of Article 218 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 218,- (i) for clause(l), the following shall be substituted, namely:- "(1) For the purpose of election to both Houses of Majilis-e-Shoora (Parliament), Provincial Assemblies and for election to such other public offices as may be specified by law, a permanent Election Commission shall be constituted in accordance with this Article."; (ii) for clause (2), the following shall be substituted, namely:- " (2) The Election Commission shall consist of.- (a) The Commissioner who shall be the Chairman of the Commission; and (b) four members, each of whom has been a Judge of a High Court from each Province, appointed by the President in the manner provided for appointment of the Commissioner in clauses (2A) and (2B) of Article 213.".
81. Amendment of Article 219 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 219,- (i) for the word "Commissioner" the word "Commission" shall be substituted; and (ii) in paragraph (c), for the full stop at the end a semi colon shall be substituted and after paragraph (c) amended as aforesaid, the following new paragraphs shall be added; namely:- (d) the holding of general elections to the National Assembly, Provincial Assemblies and the local governments; and (e) such other functions as may be specified by an Act of Majlis- e-Shoora (Parliament).
82. Amendment of Article 221 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 221, for the word "Commissioner" occurring for the first and second time, the words,"Election Commission" shall be substituted and the words "Commissioner or an" shall be omitted.
83. Amendment of Article 224 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 224,- (i) for clause (1), the following shall be substituted, namely:- "(1) A general election to the National Assembly or a Provincial Assembly shall be held within a period of sixty days immediately following the day on which the term of the Assembly is due to expire, unless the Assembly has been sooner dissolved, and the results of the election shall be declared not later than fourteen days before that day."; (ii) after clause (1) substituted as the aforesaid, the following new clauses shall be inserted, namely:- "(1A) On dissolution of the Assembly on completion of its term, or in case it is dissolved under Article 58 or Article 112, the President, or the Governor, as the case may be, shall appoint a care-taker Cabinet: Provided that the care-taker Prime Minister shall be selected by the President in consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing National Assembly, and a care-taker Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor in consultation with the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the outgoing Provincial Assembly: .
Provided further that the Members of the Federal and Provincial care-taker Cabinets shall be appointed on the advice of the caretaker Prime Minister or the care-taker Chief Minister, as the case may be.
(IB) Members of the care-taker Cabinets including the caretaker Prime Minister and the care-taker Chief Minister and their immediate family members shall not be eligible to contest the immediately following elections to such Assemblies"." Explanation.- In this clause "immediate family members" means spouse and children.
(iii) after clause (5) the following new clause shall be inserted and shall be deemed always to have been so inserted with effect from the 21st day of August, 2002, namely:- "(6) When a seat reserved for women or non-Muslims in the National Assembly or a Provincial Assembly falls vacant, on account of death, resignation or disqualification of a member, it shall be filled by the next person in order of precedence from the party list of the candidates to be submitted to the Election Commission by the political party whose member has vacated such seat.".
84. Substitution of Article 226 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 226, the following shall be substituted, namely:- "226. Election by secret ballot- All elections under the Constitution, other than those of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister, shall be by secret ballot."
85. Amendment of Article 228 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 228, in clause (3), in paragraph (c), for the word "four" the words "one-third" shall be substituted.
86. Amendment of Article 232 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 232, in clause (1), for the full stop at the end a colon shall be substituted and after clause (1) amended as aforesaid, the following provisos shall be inserted, namely: - " Provided that for imposition of emergency due to internal disturbances beyond the powers of a Provincial Government to control, a Resolution from the Provincial Assembly of that Province shall be required: Provided further that if the President acts on his own, the Proclamation of Emergency shall be placed before both Houses of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) for approval by each House within ten days."
87. Amendment of Article 233 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 233, in clause (3), for the words "a joint sitting" the words "both Houses of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) separately" shall be substituted, 88. Amendment of Article 234 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 234, in clause (1),- * (i) the words "or otherwise" shall be omitted; and (ii) for the words "at a joint sitting" the words "by each House separately" shall be substituted.
89. Amendment of Article 242 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 242,- (i) in clause (1A), for the words "in his discretion" the words "on the advice of the Prime Minister" shall be substituted"; and (ii) after clause (1 A) amended as aforesaid the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:- "(1B) The Chairman of the Public Service Commission constituted in relation to affairs of a Province shall be appointed by the Governor on advice of the Chief Minister."
90. Substitution of Article 243 in the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 243, the following shall be substituted, namely:- "243. Command of Armed Forces.- (1) The Federal Government shall have control and command of the Armed Forces.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provision, the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces shall vest in the President.
(3) The President shall subject to law, have power - (a) to raise and maintain the Military, Naval and Air Forces of Pakistan; and the Reserves of such Forces; and (b) to grant Commissions in such Forces.
(3) The President shall, on advice of the Prime Minister, appoint- (a) the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee; (b) the Chief of the Army Staff; (c) the Chief of the Naval Staff; and (d) the Chief of the Air Staff, and shall also determine their salaries and allowances."
91. Amendment of Article 246 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 246, in paragraph (a),- (a) in sub-paragraph (i), for the word "Balochistan" the word "Balochistan" and for the words "North West Frontier" the words "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa" shall be substituted and the word "and" at the end shall be omitted, and (b) after sub-paragraph (ii), the following new sub-paragraphs shall be inserted, namely:-
"(iii) Tribal Areas adjoining Lakki Marwat District; and (iv) Tribal Areas adjoining Tank District."
92. Amendment of Article 260 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 260, in clause (1), the definition of expression "consultation" shall be omitted.
93. Insertion of new Articles in the Constitution.- In the Constitution, after Article 267, the following new Articles shall be inserted, namely:- "267A. Power to remove difficulties.- (1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010, hereinafter in this Article referred as the Act, or for bringing the provisions of the Act into effective operation, the matter shall be laid before both Houses in a joint sitting which may by a resolution direct that the provisions of the Act shall, during such period as may be specified in the resolution, have effect, subject to such adaptations, whether by way of modification, addition or omission, as may be deemed necessary or expedient: Provided that this power shall be available for a period of one year from the commencement of the Act.
267B. Removal of doubt.- For removal of doubt it is hereby declared that Article 152A omitted and Articles 179 and 195 substituted by the Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003 (Act No. Ill of 2003), notwithstanding its repeal, shall be deemed always to have been so omitted and substituted."
94. Amendment of Article 268 of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 268, clause (2) shall be omitted.
95. Amendment of Article 270A of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 270A,- (a) in clause (1), the words, commas, brackets and figures "under which, in consequence of the result of the referendum held on the nineteenth day of December, 1984, General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq became the President of Pakistan on the day of the first meeting of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) in joint sitting for the term specified in clause (7) of Article 41," shall be omitted; and (b) for clause (6), the following shall be substituted, namely:- "(6) The laws referred to in clause (1) may be amended by the appropriate Legislature in the manner provided for amendment of such laws."
96. Substitution of new Article in the Constitution.- In the Constitution, for Article 270AA, the following shall be substituted, namely:- " 270AA. Declaration and continuance of laws etc.-(l) The Proclamation of Emergency of the fourteenth day of October, 1999, the Provisional Constitution Order No.l of 1999, the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2000 (No.l of 2000), Chief Executive's Order No. 12 of 2002, Chief Executive's Order No. 19 of 2002, the amendments made in the Constitution through the Legal Framework Order, 2002 (Chief Executive's Order No. 24 of 2002), the Legal Framework (Amendment) Order, 2002 (Chief Executive's Order No. 29 of 2002) and the Legal Framework (Second Amendment) Order, 2002 (Chief Executive's Order No. 32 of 2002), notwithstanding any judgment of any court including the Supreme Court or a High Court, are hereby declared as having been made without lawful authority and of no legal effect. (2) Except as provided in clause (1) and subject to the provisions of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010, all laws including President's Orders, Acts, Ordinances, Chief Executive's Orders, regulations, enactments, notifications, rules, orders or bye-laws made between the twelfth day of October, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine and the thirty-first day of October, two thousand and three (both days inclusive) and still in force shall, continue to be in force until altered, repealed or amended by the competent authority.
Explanation.- For the purposes of clause (2) and clause (6), "competent authority" means,- (a) in respect of Presidents' Orders, Ordinances, Chief Executive's Orders and all other laws, the appropriate Legislature; and (b) in respect of notifications, rules, orders and bye-laws, the authority in which the power to make, alter, repeal or amend the same vests under the law.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Constitution or clause (1), or judgment of any court including the Supreme Court or a High Court,- (a) Judges of the Supreme Court, High Courts and Federal Shariat Court who were holding the office of a Judge or were appointed as such, and had taken oath under the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2000, (I of 2000), shall be deemed to have continued to hold the office as a Judge or appointed as such, as the case may be, under the Constitution, and such continuance or appointment, shall have effect accordingly.
(b) Judges of the Supreme Court, High Courts and Federal Shariat' Court who not having been given or taken oath under the Oath of Office of (Judges) Order, 2000 (I of 2000), and ceased to hold the office of a Judge shall, for the purposes of pensionary benefits only, be deemed to have continued to hold office under the Constitution till their date of superannuation.
(4) All orders made, proceedings taken, appointments made, including secondments and deputations, and acts done by any authority, or by any person which were made, taken or done, or purported to have been made, taken or done, in exercise of the powers derived from any authority or laws mentioned in clause (2), or in execution of or in compliance with any orders made or sentences passed by any authority in the exercise or purported exercise of powers as aforesaid, shall, notwithstanding anything contained in clause (1), be deemed to be valid and shall not be called in question in any court or forum on any ground whatsoever.
(5) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings, including writ petitions, shall lie in any court or forum against any authority or any person, for or on account of or in respect of any order made, proceedings taken or act done whether in the exercise or purported exercise of the powers referred to in clause (2) or clause (4) or in execution of or in compliance with orders made or sentences passed in exercise or purported exercise of such powers.
(6) Notwithstanding omission of the Concurrent Legislative List by the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010, all laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in the said List (including Ordinances, Orders, rules, bye-laws, regulations and notifications and other legal instruments having the force of law) in force in Pakistan or any part thereof, or having extra-territorial operation, immediately before the commencement of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010, shall continue to remain in force until altered, repealed or amended by the competent authority.
(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Constitution, all taxes and fees levied under any law in force immediately before the commencement of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010, shall continue to be levied until they are varied or abolished by an Act of the appropriate legislature.
(8) On the omission of the Concurrent Legislative List, the process of devolution of the matters mentioned in the said List to the Provinces shall be completed by the thirtieth day of June, two thousand and eleven.
(9) For purposes of the devolution process under clause (8), the Federal Government shall constitute an Implementation Commission as it may deem fit within fifteen days of the commencement of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010."
97. Amendment of Article 270B of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in Article 270B, after the figure and comma "1977,", the words, commas, figures and brackets "and the Conduct of General Elections Order, 2002 (Chief Executive's Order No.7 of 2002)," shall be inserted and shall be deemed always to have been so inserted with effect from the 21st day of August, 2002.
98. Insertion of new Article 270BB of the Constitution.- In the Constitution, after Article 270B amended as aforesaid, the following new Article shall be inserted, namely:- "270BB. General Elections 2008.- Notwithstanding anything contained in the Constitution or any other law for the time being in force, the General Elections 2008, to the -National Assembly and the Provincial Assemblies held on the eighteenth day of February, two thousand and eight shall be deemed to have been held under the Constitution and shall have effect accordingly."
99. Amendment of Annex to the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in the Annex, in the Objectives Resolution, in the sixth paragraph, after the word "to" the word "freely" shall be inserted.
100. Amendment of Third Schedule to the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in the Third Schedule,- (I) in the Oath prescribed for the Prime Minister, for the figure "3" occurring in the brackets, the figure "5" shall be substituted; (II) in the Oath prescribed for the Chief Minister or Provincial Minister, for the figures and brackets "131(4)" the figures and brackets "130(5)" shall be substituted; (III) in the Oath prescribed for the Speaker of a Provincial Assembly, for the words "I will discharge" the words and comma "and whenever I am called upon to act as Governor, I will discharge " shall be substituted; and (IV) for the Oath prescribed for the Chief Justice or a Judge of the Federal Shariat Court, the following shall be substituted, namely:- [Article 203C (7)] (In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful.) I,______________________, do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to Pakistan: That, as Chief Justice of the Federal Shariat Court (or a Judge of the Federal Shariat Court), I will discharge my duties, and perform my functions, honestly, to the best of my ability, and faithfully, in accordance with the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the law: That I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct or my official decisions.
That I will abide by the code of conduct issued by the Supreme Judicial Council: That I will preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan: And that, in all circumstances, I will do right to all manner of people, according to law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will.
[May Allah Almighty help and guide me (A'meen)]" ;
101. Amendment of Fourth Schedule to the Constitution.- In the Constitution, in the Fourth Schedule, in the Federal Legislative List,- (1) in Part I,- (i) in entry 18, in sub-entry (c) for the full stop at the end the semicolon and a word ";and" shall be added and after sub-entry(c) amended as aforesaid the following new sub-entry shall be added, namely:-"(d) boilers.".
(ii) for entry 32 the following shall be substituted, namely:- "32. International treaties, conventions and agreements and International arbitration.", (iii) entries 21,33,38 and 40 shall be omitted; (iv) entry 45 and entry 46 shall be omitted; (v) in entry 49, after the word "consumed" the comma and words",except sales tax on services" shall be added.
(vi) in. entry 50, after the word "taxes" the words "on capital gains" shall be omitted.
(2) in Part II,- (i) entries 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 shall be renumbered as entries 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17, respectively, and (ii) after entry 3, the following new entries shall be inserted, namely:- "4. Electricity.
5. Major ports, that is to say, the declaration and delimitation of such ports, and the constitution and powers of port authorities therein.
6. All regulatory authorities established under a Federal law.
7. National planning and national economic coordination including planning and coordination of scientific and technological research.
8. Supervision and management of public debt.
9. Census.
10. Extension of the powers and jurisdiction of members of a police force belonging to any Province to any area in another Province, but not so as to enable the police of one Province to exercise powers and jurisdiction in another Province without the consent of the Government of that Province; extension of the powers and jurisdiction of members of a police force belonging to any Province to railway areas outside that Province.
11. Legal, medical and other professions.
12. Standards in institutions for higher education and research, scientific and technical institutions.
13. Inter-provincial matters and co-ordination,".
(3) The Concurrent Legislative List and the entries thereto from 1 to 47 (both inclusive) shall be omitted.
102. Omission of the Sixth and the Seventh Schedule in the Constitution.- In the Constitution, the Sixth Schedule and the Seventh Schedule shall be omitted.
STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS The Constitution of 1973 was not implemented in letter and spirit. The democratic system was derailed at different times. The non-democratic regimes which came into power at different times centralized all authority and thus altered the structure of the Constitution from a Parliamentary form to a quasi-Presidential form of Government through the Eighth and Seventeenth Constitutional Amendments. Thus, the equilibrium established by the Constitution between various organs of State was disturbed which led to weakening of democratic institutions. This inter alia deprived the Provinces of their legitimate constitutional rights in governance and utilization of their natural resources. It also resulted in absence of rule of law, lack of confidence in the judicial system and distance between the Provinces and the Federation, 2. It was in this background that the Charter of Democracy was signed between Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Shaheed and Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif on 14th May, 2006. The objects of the Charter were to ensure undiluted democratic governance and fundamental rights for the people of Pakistan. An All Parties Conference was also held in London. The historic struggle continued for a just and fair system for Provincial Autonomy. The momentum thus created led to the election of February, 2008 and to the eventual exit of General (R) Musharraf in August, 2008.
3. The people of Pakistan have relentlessly struggled for democracy and for attaining the ideals of a Federal, Islamic, democratic, parliamentary and modem progressive welfare State wherein the rights of citizens are secured, and the Provinces have equitable share in the Federation.
4. Accordingly it is necessary that the Legal Framework Order, 2002, as amended by the Chief Executive's Order No. 29 and the Chief Executive's Order No. 32 of 2002, be declared as having been made without lawful authority and of no legal effect, and the Constitution (Seventeenth "Amendment) Act, 2003 (Act No.III of 2003) be repealed and the Constitution further amended to achieve the aforesaid objectives.
5. The Bill is designed to achieve the aforesaid objectives."

Summary of UN Report on Benazir Bhutto’s Murder

(For complete text of the report, please click here.

On 27 December 2007, former Pakistani Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto was assassinated as she left a campaign event at Liaquat Bagh, in the Pakistani city of Rawalpindi. In the attack on Ms Bhutto, 24 other people were killed and 91 injured.
After a request from the Government of Pakistan and extensive consultations with Pakistani officials as well as with members of the United Nations Security Council, the Secretary-General appointed a three member Commission of Inquiry to determine the facts and circumstances of the assassination of the former prime minister. The duty of carrying out a criminal investigation, finding the perpetrators and bringing them to justice, remains with the competent Pakistani authorities. The Secretary-General appointed Ambassador Heraldo Muñoz, the Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations as head of the Commission as well as Mr Marzuki Darusman, a former Attorney-General of Indonesia, and Mr Peter FitzGerald, a former Deputy Commissioner of the Irish Police, the Garda Siochána.
The Commission commenced its activities on 1 July 2009 and provided its report to the Secretary-General on 30 March 2010.In the course of its inquiry, the Commission received significant support from the Government of Pakistan and many of its citizens. The Commissioners and staff traveled freque ntly to Pakistan in the furtherance of its mandate. The Commission conducted more than 250 interviews, meeting with Pakistani officials and private citizens, foreign citizens with knowledge of the events in Pakistan and members of the United Kingdom Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard) team that investigated aspects of the assassination. The Commission also reviewed hundreds of documents, videos, photographs and other documentary material provided by Pakistan’s federal and provincial authorities and others. The Commission also met with representatives of other governments such as Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. Some relevant senior officials were not made available to the Commission, but the Commission is satisfied that this did not hinder its ability to establish the facts and circumstances of the assassination. Pertinent information from these sources, including on threats to Ms Bhutto, nevertheless, was already in the possession of Pakistani authorities and eventually came to be known by the Commission.
The Commission was mystified by the efforts of certain high- ranking Pakistani government authorities to obstruct access to military and intelligence sources, as revealed in their public declarations. The extension of the mandate until 31 March 2 010 enabled the Commission to pursue further this matter and eventually meet with some past and present members of the Pakistani military and intelligence services.The report addresses the political and security context of Ms Bhutto’s return to Pakistan; the security arrangements made for her by the Pakistani authorities, who bore the primary responsibility to protect her, as well as her political party, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP); events immediately before and after the assassination; and the criminal investigations and actions of the Pakistani Government and police in the aftermath of the crime.Ms Bhutto’s return to Pakistan on 18 October 2007 and assassination on 27 December 2007 culminated a year of intense political conflict, revolving largely around the elections scheduled for later that year and their potential for opening a transition to democracy after eight years of military rule. It was also one of the most violent years in Pakistani history. She returned in the context of a tenuous and inconclusive political agreement with General Pervez Musharraf, as part of a process facilitated by the United Kingdom and the United States.
Ms Bhutto’s assassination could have been prevented if adequate security measures had been taken. The responsibility for Ms Bhutto’s security on the day of her assassination rested with the federal Government, the government of Punjab and the Rawalpindi District Police. None of these entities took the necessary measures to respond to the extraordinary, fresh and urgent security risks that they knew she faced.The federal Government under General Musharraf, although fully aware of and tracking the serious threats to Ms. Bhutto, did little more than pass on those threats to her and to provincial authorities and were not proactive in neutralizing them or ensuring that the security provided was commensurate to the threats. This is especially grave given the attempt on her life in Karachi when she returned to Pakistan on 18 October 2007.The PPP provided additional security for Ms. Bhutto. The Commission recognizes the heroism of individual PPP supporters, many of whom sacrificed themselves to protect her; however, the additional security arrangements of the PPP lacked leadership and were inadequate and poorly executed.The Rawalpindi district police’s actions and omissions in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of Ms Bhutto, including the hosing down of the crime scene and failure to collect and preserve evidence, inflicted irreparable damage to the investigation. The investigation into Ms Bhutto’s assassination, and those who died with her, lacked direction, was ineffective and suffered from a lack of commitment to identify and bring all of the perpetrators to justice. While she died when a 15 and a half year-old suicide bomber detonated his explosives near her vehicle, no one believes that this boy acted alone.
Ms. Bhutto faced threats from a number of sources; these included Al-Qaida, the Taliban, local jihadi groups and potentially from elements in the Pakistani Establishment. Yet the Commission found that the investigation focused on pursuing lower level operatives and placed little to no focus on investigating those further up the hierarchy in the planning, financing and execution of the assassination. The investigation was severely hampered by intelligence agencies and other government officials, which impeded an unfettered search for the truth. More significantly, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) conducted parallel investigations, gathering evidence and detaining suspects. Evidence gathered from such parallel investigations was selectively shared with the police. The Commission believes that the failure of the police to investigate effectively Ms Bhutto’s assassination was deliberate.
These officials, in part fearing intelligence agencies’ involvement, were unsure of how vigorously they ought to pursue actions, which they knew, as professionals, they should have taken.It remains the responsibility of the Pakistani authorities to carry out a serious, credible criminal investigation that determines who conceived, ordered and executed this heinous crime of historic proportions, and brings those responsible to justice. Doing so would constitute a ma jor step toward ending impunity for political crimes in this country.

Decision of Supreme Court on NRO: Short Order

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PAKISTAN(Original Jurisdiction)

Present Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, CJ. Mr. Justice Javed Iqbal Mr. Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan Mr. Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday Mr. Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan Mr. Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani Mr. Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk Mr. Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed Mr. Justice Ch. Ijaz Ahmed Mr. Justice Muhammad Sair Ali Mr. Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui Mr. Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja Mr. Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali Mr. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain Mr. Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi Mr. Justice Tariq Parvez Mr. Justice Ghulam Rabbani

CONSTITUTION PETITION NOS. 76 TO 80 OF 2007 & 59/2009,

AND

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 1094 OF 2009

(On appeal from the order dated 15.1.2009 passed by High Court of Sindh at Karachi in Const.P.No.355 of 2008)

AND
HRC NOS.14328-P TO 14331-P & 15082-P OF 2009

Dr. Mobashir Hassan		(Const.P.76/07)
Roedad Khan		(Const. P.77/07)
Qazi Hussain Ahmad		(Const.P.78/07)
Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif		(Const.P.79/07)
Muhammad Tariq Asad		(Const.P.80/07)
Syed Feroz Shah Gillani		(Const.P.59/09)
Fazal Ahmad Jat		(C.A.1094/09)
Shaukat Ali		(H.R.C.14328-P/09)
Doraiz		(H.R.C.14329-P/09)
Zulqarnain Shahzad		(H.R.C.14330-P/09)
Abid Hussain		(H.R.C.14331-P/09)
Manzoor Ahmad		(H.R.C.15082-P/09)
		…		…		…		Petitioners.
	Versus
Federation of Pakistan, etc.
		…	…		…		Respondents.

For the petitioners

For the Respondents: For M/o Law

For the NAB

: Mr. Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, Sr. ASC. Mr. Suleman Akram Raja, ASC. Mr. Ejaz Muhammad Khan, AOR. Assisted by: Abdul Mujeeb Pirzada, Sr.ASC Mr. M.Afzal Siddiqui, ASC Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb, ASC Mr. Sikandar Bashir Mohmand, ASC Barrister Feroze Jamal Shah, Adv. Mr. Hameed Ahmeed, Adv. Mr. Mustafa Aftab Sherpao, Adv. Mr. Sameer Khosa, Adv. Mr. Umar Akram Chaudhry, Adv. Malik Ghulam Sabir, Adv.

(in Const. P. 76/2007)
Mr. Muhammad Ikram Ch. ASC.
Mr. G. N. Gohar, AOR.
(in Const. P. 77/2007)

Dr. Farooq Hassan, Sr.ASC
Mr. Hashmat Ali Habib, ASC
Ch. Muhammad Akram, AOR
(in Const.P.78/07)
Mr. Ashtar Ausaf Ali, ASC
(In Const.P.79/07)

Mr. Tariq Asad, ASC (in person) (In Const.P.80/07)
Mr. A.K. Dogar, Sr. ASC
(In Const.P.59/09)

Mr. Shahid Orakzai (in person) (In CMA 4842/09)
Raja Muhammad Ibrahim Satti, Sr. ASC (in CA.1094/2009)
NEMO (in HR.Cases)

: Mr. Kamal Azfar, Sr. ASC. Assisted by Mr. K.K. Agha, ASC. Raja Abdul Ghafoor, AOR.

(in Const.P.76-77/07)
Raja Abdul Ghafoor, AOR.
(in Const.P.78-80/07 & 59/09)

: Dr. Danishwar Malik, PG. Mr. Abdul Baseer Qureshi, Addl: PG Dr. Asghar Rana, ADPG, Ch. Akhtar Ali, AOR. Mr. Naveed Ahsan, Chairman NAB
On Court Notice : Mr. Shah Khawar, Acting Attorney General for Pakistan. Assisted by: Agha Tariq Mehmood Khan, DAG. Mr. Dil Muhammad Alizai, DAG. Raja Aleem Abbassi, DAG.
For Govt. of Balochistan : Dr. Salahuddin Mengal, AG.
For Govt. of NWFP. : Mr. Zia-ur-Rehman, A.G. Mr. Zahid Yousaf, Addl. A.G. Mr. Naveed Akhtar, A.A.G.
For Govt. of the Punjab : Mr. M. Hanif Khattana, Addl: AG. Ch. Khadim Hussain Qaiser, Addl: AG.
For Govt. of Sindh : Mr. Yousaf Leghari, AG.
On Court’s Call: : Malik Muhammad Qayyum, Sr. ASC Former Attorney General for Pakistan

Mr. Justice (R) M. Riaz Kiani
Secretary Law & Justice.
Dr. Riaz Mehmood, Sr. Joint Secretary.
Syed Nasir Ali Shah, Solicitor General.
Mr. M. Salman Faruqui,
Principle Secretary to the President.

Amicus Curiae : Mian Allah Nawaz, Sr. ASC. Mr. Shaiq Usmani Sr. ASC. Mr. M. Sardar Khan, Sr. ASC. Assisted By Mr. Idrees Ashraf, Adv.
Dates of hearing : 07^th -10^th & 14^th - 16^th December, 2009.

O R D E R The above titled Constitution Petitions have been filed under Article 184(3) of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan [hereinafter referred to as ‘the Constitution’] challenging the constitutionality of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (No.LX) 2007 [hereinafter referred to as ‘the NRO’], while HR cases and Civil Appeal, by leave of the Court, have been filed by the applicants/appellant for extension of benefit of the NRO to them.

IFTIKHAR MUHAMMAD CHAUDHRY, CJ. –

1. Succinctly stating the facts, giving rise to instant proceedings, are that on 5th October, 2007, the President of Pakistan, in purported exercise of powers conferred by clause (1) of Article 89 of the Constitution, issued the NRO, whereby, certain amendments have been made in the Criminal Procedure Code, 1898, the Representation of the People Act, 1976 and the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 [hereinafter referred to as “the NAB Ordinance”]. By means of Section 2 of the NRO, Section 494 of Cr.P.C. has been amended. Likewise, vide Section 3 of the NRO, Section 39 of the Representation of the People Act, 1976 has been amended. Similarly, Sections 4, 5 & 6 of the NRO amended Sections 18, 24 and 31A of the NAB Ordinance, respectively, whereas by means of Section 7 of the NRO, Section 33F has been inserted in the NAB Ordinance.
   
   
2. The NRO came under challenge, as stated above, before this Court,
   
   

through listed petitions. These petitions came up for hearing before the
Court on 12^th October, 2007 when after hearing the learned counsel for the
petitioners, the Court proceeded to issue notices to the respondents as well
as to Attorney General for Pakistan, for a date in office after three weeks,
while making the following observation:
“however, we are inclined to observe in unambiguous terms that any benefit drawn or intended to be drawn by any of the public office holder shall be subject to the decision of the listed petitions and the beneficiary would not be entitled to claim any protection of the concluded action under Sections 6 and 7 of the impugned Ordinance, under any principle of law, if this Court conclude that the impugned Ordinance and particularly its these provisions are ultra vires the Constitution”.
4. Pending decision of these petitions, on 3^rd November, 2007, emergency was proclaimed in the country by the then President of Pakistan and also the Chief of Army Staff and under the garb of Provisional Constitution Order, 2007, Provisional Constitution (Amendment) Order, 2007 was issued, whereby, Article 270AAA was inserted in the Constitution, which provided protection to all the laws including the Ordinances in force on the day on which the Proclamation of Emergency of 3^rd November 2007 was revoked. As a result of above constitutional amendment, the apparent interest was that the NRO should attain permanence. The Proclamation of Emergency as well as other extra-constitutional instruments were challenged before this Court in the case of Tikka Iqbal Muhammad Khan v. General Pervez Musharraf (PLD 2008 SC 178), when the Court declared the Proclamation of Emergency of 3^rd November, 2007, the Provisional Constitution Order, 2007, Provisional Constitution (Amendment) Order, 2007, the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007 and the President’s Order No.5 of 2007, to be validly enacted. However, this Court, vide its judgment dated 31^st July 2009, in the case of Sindh High Court Bar Association v. Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2009 SC 879) declared all the above five instruments to be unconstitutional, illegal and void ab initio, as a result whereof Article 270AAA stood deleted from the Constitution. Consequently, the NRO, as well as 37 other Ordinances, which were meant to be protected, were shorn of the permanency purportedly provided under Article 270AAA of the Constitution and sanctified by the judgment passed in Tikka Iqbal Muhammad Khan’s case (ibid). However, through the same judgment, this Court, while supporting the doctrine of trichotomy of powers, as envisaged in the scheme of the Constitution and to prevent any disruption, enabled the Parliament to reconsider and, if thought fit, to enact, all the 37 Ordinances including the NRO, as Acts of Parliament. For this purpose the life of the Ordinances stood extended for another 120 days (in case of Federal Legislation) and 90 days (in case of Provincial Legislation). This constituted an opportunity to the democratic Government at the Centre and in the Provinces to legitimize the acts, actions, proceedings and orders, initiated, taken or done, under those Ordinances, by placing them before the Parliament, to make them enactments of Parliament, with retrospective effect.

1. In pursuance of above judgment of 31^st July, 2009, the NRO was placed before the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Law & Justice, in its meeting held on 29^th & 30^th October, 2009. During the discussions and deliberations, some of the members did not agree with the decision of the Committee and left the proceedings in protest. However, ultimately, on 2^nd November, 2009 the Committee recommended that, after the proposed amendments in the Bill for enacting the NRO, the same may be passed by the Assembly. It is pertinent to mention here that despite finalization of the report of the Standing Committee on NRO and before its approval by the Chairperson of the Committee, the Minister concerned withdrew the Bill under Rule 139 of Procedure & Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007. As a result, the NRO could not be passed by the Parliament, within its extended life, therefore, it lapsed.
   
   
2. The petitioners in these Constitution Petitions have challenged the vires of the NRO with the prayer that the same may be declared ultra vires the Constitution, viod ab initio and of no legal effect. For convenience, the prayer made in Constitution Petition No. 76 of 2007, filed by Dr. Mubashir Hassan, is reproduced herein below:
   
   

“1) Section 2, 4, 5, 6 & 7 of the NRO may kindly be declared to be void ab initio, of no legal effect and ultra vires the Constitution, in particular Articles 25, 62, 63 and 175 thereof.

2) During the pendency of the instant petition, the respondents may kindly be restraint from taking any action under or in terms of the impugned Ordinance. The respondents may in particular, be restrained from withdrawing any request for mutual assistance and civil party, letters rogatory and like issued to any Foreign Government, Court or other Authority or Multilateral Organization.

3) Any other order deemed beneficial to the interest of Justice and equity, may also kindly be made.

7. The instant petitions came up for hearing before this Bench on

7^th December 2009, when Mr. Shah Khawar, Acting Attorney General for

Pakistan, placed on record a written statement on behalf of Federation of

Pakistan. Relevant paras therefrom are reproduced herein below:

“2. That the Federation believes in supremacy of the Constitution of 1973 and the Parliament.

3. That the National Reconciliation Ordinance, 2007 was promulgated by the previous regime and I am under instruction not to defend it.”

8. Mr. Kamal Azfar, learned Sr. ASC appearing on behalf of the

Federation of Pakistan, through Ministry of Law & Justice, filed Civil

Misc. Applications No. 4875 & 4898 of 2009 in Constitution Petitions

No. 76 & 77 of 2007. Contents of paras at page 11 & 12 of the said

applications are reproduced herein below:

“If however, this Hon’ble Court wishes to rule upon wider issues other than those raised in the petition and prayer the Federation requests that fresh petitions be filed precisely stipulating these issues whereupon the Federation will seek instructions on such new petition.

Pak Today is poised at the cross roads. One road leads to truly federal democratic welfare sate with the balance of power between an Independent judiciary, a duly elected Govt. representing the will of the people a determined executive which is fighting the war against terrorism and poverty. The second road leads to destabilization of the rule of law. The people of Pakistan await your verdict.”

When we confronted the learned counsel with above contents of his

applications, he requested that the same may be treated as deleted. In this

behalf, he, however, filed a written statement, contents whereof are

reproduced herein below for ready reference:

“STATEMENT In Compliance of the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court

of Pakistan to appraise the Hon’ble Court as to how the Federation

would interpret the wording “the second road leads to the

destabilization of the rule of law”, it is submitted as follows:

(1)

There is no mention of the wording ‘threat to democracy’ in the Statement.

(2)

The Federation supports the Prosecution, in accordance with law, of persons alleged to have done wrong doing. The Federation does not oppose the Petitions seeking a declaration that the National Reconciliation Ordinance 2007 (NRO) is illegal and unconstitutional.

(3)

With regard to the “wider issues” mentioned in paragraph No.9 these refer to those matters which were raised by the Petitioner’s counsel during oral arguments and which find no mention whatsoever in the Petitions. For example, submissions made in respect of Articles 89 (in particular the alleged concept of “implied Resolution”) and A.264 on the effect of Repeal.

(4)

The Federation’s view is that those who have benefited under the NRO should be proceeded against under the appropriate laws before the courts having the competent jurisdiction. As factual matters need to be determined by the trial courts.

(5)

So far as my comments made yesterday before this Hon’ble Court concerning the threat from GHQ, the CIA and the contents of paragraph 9 of the CMA are concerned these were my personal views and were not made on the instructions of the Federation of Pakistan. As such I withdraw the same, which should not be considered by this Hon’ble Court in any manner whatsoever and the same should be deleted and expunged from the record.

(6)

It is emphasized that the Federation of Pakistan holds this Hon’ble Court in the highest esteem and has the greatest respect for the same.”

1. Learned Advocates General of Punjab, Sindh, NWFP and
   
   
2. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties at length and have
   
   

Balochistan appeared and supported the stance taken by the Attorney

General for Pakistan.

also gone through the material placed on record in support of their
submissions.
11. As it has been noted above that challenge to NRO was thrown by the
petitioners, no sooner same was promulgated by the President and
admission order dated 12^th October, 2007, was passed, to examine
following questions:
“2. Mr. Salman Akram Raja, learned counsel appearing on
behalf of petitioner in Constitution Petition No. 76 of 2007 argued
that:-
a) Section 7 of the impugned Ordinance being self-executory in nature amounts to legislative judgment, which is impermissible intrusion into the exercise of judicial powers of the State and thus falls foul of Article 175 of the Constitution which envisages separation and independence of the judiciary from other organs of the State. (AIR 1975 SC 2299)].
b) Legislative judgment cannot be enacted by the Parliament. [ Smt. Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain
c) By promulgating Section 7 of the impugned Ordinance, Article 63(1)(h) and 63(1)(l) of the Constitution have been made ineffective, as regards chosen category of people, therefore, it is ultra vires the Constitution as it amounts to defeat the constitutional mandates. because it also provides protection against future action in terms of its Section 7 and it had also rendered Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution ineffective.
d) Impugned Ordinance exhorts about or indemnifies a particular class of people i.e. public office holders from proceedings, actions and orders passed by the competent authorities, whereas no such powers are available to the Parliament or, for that matter, to the President of Pakistan under Federal or Concurrent Legislative List. Further; the President is empowered only to pardon an accused person, under Article 45 of the Constitution, after passing of sentence by a Court of law, whereas by means of impugned Ordinance, the President has been empowered to indemnify or pardon an accused, against whom proceedings are pending before Investigating Agency or a Court of law or in appeal by giving a blanket cover.
e) The impugned Ordinance violates the provisions of Article 25 of the Constitution because it is not based on intelligible differentia, relatable to lawful objects, therefore, deserves to be struck down.
f) The impugned Ordinance is against the public policy
g) Sub-sections (2) and (3) of Section 494 of Cr.P.C. added by means of impugned Ordinance are contrary to provisions of Sub-section (1) of Section 494 of Cr.P.C. where it has been provided that cases can only be withdrawn with the consent of the Court, whereas, in newly added Sub-Sections, powers of the “Court ” have been conferred upon the Review Boards of the Executive Bodies, therefore, these Sub-sections are also contrary to Article 175 of the Constitution. and No criteria has been laid down as to why the cases falling between the 1^st day of January 1986 to 12^th day of October 1999 have been covered under these provisions, inasmuch as definition of political victimization has not been provided in these Subsections, as a result whereof it has been left at the subjective consideration of Review Board/ Executive Bodies to determine the same. Thus such provisions cannot exist in any manner.
h) The impugned Ordinance has been promulgated in colorable exercise of Legislative powers and its various provisions have created discrimination among ordinary and classified accused, therefore, all these provisions tantamount to malice in law. vires the Constitution.
i) The provisions of impugned Ordinance are so overbroad that these have provided blanket cover to all the holders of public offices, including chosen representatives and ordinary employees, therefore, the object of national reconciliation cannot be achieved by allowing it to exist.
j) The provisions of Sections 4 and 5 of the impugned Ordinance are highly discriminatory in nature, therefore, are liable to be struck down.
k) Section 6 of the impugned Ordinance is contrary to the basic principles relating to annulment of judgments, even if passed in absentia, in accordance with existing law, according to which unless the basis for the judgment, in favour of a party, is not removed, it could not affect the rights of the parties, in whose favour the same was passed but when the Legislature promulgated the impugned Ordinance, in order to remove the basis on which the judgment was founded, such judgment shall have no bearing on the cases. [Facto Belarus Tractor Ltd. v. Government of Pakistan (PLD 2005 SC 605)]. Hence, provisions of the impugned Ordinance as a whole are against the concept of equality of Islamic Injunction, provided under Article 2A of the Constitution, therefore, on this score as well, deserves to be struck down being ultra

1. Mr. Muhammad Ikram Chaudhry, learned Sr. ASC for petitioner in Constitution Petition No. 77 of 2007, while adopting the above arguments, added that :
   
   
2. i) The impugned Ordinance is purpose specific and period specific, therefore, violates Article 25 of the Constitution. Dr. Farooq Hassan, Sr. ASC appearing in Constitution Petition No. 78 of 2007 on behalf of petitioner, while adopted the arguments raised by Mr. Suleman Ahmed Raja, ASC contended that:
   
   

i) The impugned Ordinance is contradictory to and violative of the United Nation’s Convention Against Corruption, enacted in 2005 and ratified by Pakistan on 31 of August 2007. st

ii) Under the Constitution, no indemnity or amnesty can at all be given to any one, except granting pardon in terms of Article 45 of the Constitution. Mr. M.A. Zaidi, AOR appeared on behalf of Mr. Muhammad Akram Sheikh, Sr. ASC in Constitution Petition No.79 of 2007 and adopted the above arguments of the learned counsel for the petitioners.

iii) Sections 2, 4, 5 and 6 of the impugned Ordinance are violative of the doctrine of trichotomy of powers.

iv) The impugned Ordinance has in fact changed the basic structure of the Constitution.

v) The impugned Ordinance has also violated the principles of political justice and fundamental rights because it allows plundering of national wealth and to get away with it. More so, it tried to condone dishonesty of magnitude which is unconscientious and shocking to the conscience of mankind.

2. Mr. Tariq Asad, ASC appearing in Constitution Petition
   
   

No. 80 of 2007 also adopted the above arguments, while adding

that:

a) The impugned Ordinance has been promulgated on the basis of personal satisfaction of the President of Pakistan but for extraneous reasons and to provide indemnity/immunity to the public office holders, therefore, is liable to be struck down. 12. Subsequent thereto cases remained pending except when their

hearing was fixed on 27^th February, 2008 and order dated 12^th October,
2007, was vacated in following terms :
“3. These Constitution Petitions are adjourned to a date in office due to indisposition of the learned counsel for the petitioners. Meanwhile, in view of the rule laid down in the case of Federation of Pakistan vs. Aitzaz Ahsan (PLD 1989 SC 61), the observations made by this Court in Para 8 of the order dated 12.10.2007 in Constitution Petitions No.76-80 of 2007 to the effect that “however, we are inclined to observe in unambiguous terms that any benefit drawn or intended to be drawn by any of the public office holder shall be subject to the decision of the listed petitions and the beneficiary would not be entitled to claim any protection of the concluded action under Sections 6 and 7 of the impugned Ordinance, under any principle of law, if this Court conclude that the impugned Ordinance and particularly its these provisions are ultra vires the Constitution” are deleted. Resultantly, the Ordinance shall hold the field and shall have its normal operation. The Courts and authorities concerned shall proceed further expeditiously in the light of the provisions of the Ordinance without being influenced by the pendency of these petitions.”
13. As it has been noted above that while deciding the case of Sindh (ibid), all the Ordinances which were not laid
High Court Bar Association
before the Parliament, on account of insertion of Article 270AAA in the
Constitution, were shorn of permanency, therefore, the Parliament was
asked to examine all such Ordinances within a period of 120 and 90 days,
as the case may be, commencing from 31^st July, 2009, when a 14 Member
Bench announced judgment. The period so assigned by the Court expired
on 28^th November, 2009 but the NRO was taken back from the Parliament,
leaving for this Court to examine its constitutionality in the cases listed
above. It is a cardinal principle of jurisprudence that courts are not required
to give decisions of cases in vacuum rather it has to consider facts as well, giving a cause to a person to approach Courts. The NRO gave benefits to a class of people, whose identification is not difficult to ascertain, namely accused persons, involved in criminal and corruption cases, during the period commencing from 1^st January, 1986 to 12^th October, 1999 and this classification has created a divide amongst ordinary citizens of Pakistan and a class of alleged criminals who statedly have committed crimes of murder, dacoity, rape, looting/plundering of money/resources of this nation. Therefore, prima facie, to understand the nature of such beneficiaries, Federal Government, Provincial Governments and the NAB were asked to provide details in this behalf. In response to such query the Government of Sindh through its Advocate General filed a large list of such like accused, who being charged for the cases of criminal nature, benefited from the NRO, which included heinous and minor crimes, as well. As far as the remaining Governments and the Federating Units are concerned, they categorically denied extension of benefits of the NRO to even a single accused in their respective jurisdictions. However, NAB has submitted a list containing names of 248 persons, who benefited from the NRO within and outside the country. A cursory perusal of this list suggests that barring the cases inside the country, huge benefit has been availed by some of the persons in the cases pending against them outside the country. At this stage it is to be noted that application of the NRO, beyond the territories of the country, is a question which requires consideration on jurisdictional plane of this Court as well. NAB has also provided a list of the persons, who were convicted in absentia under Section 31A of the NAB Ordinance.
14. In depth examination of the NRO suggests that it has not been promulgated to provide reconciliation on national basis as this nation has seen reconciliation in 1973, when a Constituent Assembly gave the Constitution of 1973 to the nation, guaranteeing their fundamental rights, on the basis of equality and brotherhood, as a result whereof, the nation had proved its unity, whenever it faced a challenge to its sovereignty and existence. The representation of the people, in subsequent Legislative Assemblies, has upheld the provisions of 1973 Constitution, except for few occasions when they have made amendments under peculiar circumstances. However, salient features of the Constitution i.e. Independence of Judiciary, Federalism, Parliamentary form of Government blended with Islamic provisions, now have become integral part of the Constitution and no change in the basic features of the Constitution, is possible through amendment as it would be against the national reconciliation, evident in the promulgation of the Constitution of 1973, by a Legislative Assembly. Therefore, promulgation of the NRO seems to be against the national interest and its preamble is contrary to the substance embodied therein. Thus, it violates various provisions of the Constitution. Therefore, by means of instant short order, reasons of which shall be recorded later, we hold as follows:

(i)

that the NRO is declared to be an instrument void ab initio being ultra vires and violative of various constitutional provisions including Article Nos. 4, 8, 25, 62(f), 63(i)(p), 89, 175 and 227 of the Constitution;

(ii)

that as a consequence of the said declaration, all steps taken, actions suffered, and all orders passed by whatever authority, any orders passed by the courts of law including the orders of discharge and acquittals recorded in favour of the accused persons, are also declared never to have existed in the eyes of law and resultantly of no legal effect;

(iii) that all cases in which the accused persons were either discharged or acquitted under Section 2 of the NRO or where proceedings pending against the holders of public office had got terminated in view of Section 7 thereof, a list of which cases has been furnished to this Court and any other such cases/proceedings which may not have been brought to the notice of this Court, shall stand revived and relegated to the status of pre-5^th of October, 2007 position;

(iv)

that all the concerned courts including the trial, the appellate and the revisional courts are ordered to summon the persons accused in such cases and then to proceed in the respective matters in accordance with law from the stage from where such proceedings had been brought to an end in pursuance of the above provisions of the NRO;

(v)

that the Federal Government, all the Provincial Governments and all relevant and competent authorities including the Prosecutor General of NAB, the Special Prosecutors in various Accountability Courts, the Prosecutors General in the four Provinces and other officers or officials involved in the prosecution of criminal offenders are directed to offer every possible assistance required by the competent courts in the said connection;

(vi)

that similarly all cases which were under investigation or pending enquiries and which had either been withdrawn or where the investigations or enquiries had been terminated on account of the NRO shall also stand revived and the relevant and competent authorities shall proceed in the said matters in accordance with law;

(vii) that it may be clarified that any judgment, conviction or sentence recorded under section 31-A of the NAB Ordinance shall hold the field subject to law and since the NRO stands declared as void ab initio, therefore, any benefit derived by any person in pursuance of Section 6 thereof is also declared never to have legally accrued to any such person and consequently of no legal effect;

(viii) that since in view of the provisions of Article 100(3) of the Constitution, the Attorney General for Pakistan could not have suffered any act not assigned to him by the Federal Government or not authorized by the said Government and since no order or authority had been shown to us under which the then learned Attorney General namely Malik Muhammad Qayyum had been authorized to address communications to various authorities/courts in foreign countries including Switzerland, therefore, such communications addressed by him withdrawing the requests for Mutual Legal Assistance or abandoning the status of a Civil Party in such proceedings abroad or which had culminated in the termination of proceedings before the competent fora in Switzerland or other countries or in abandonment of the claim of the Government of Pakistan to huge amounts of allegedly laundered moneys, are declared to be unauthorized, unconstitutional and illegal acts of the said Malik Muhammad Qayyum;

(ix)

that since the NRO stands declared void ab initio, therefore, any actions taken or suffered under the said law are also non est in law and since the communications addressed by Malik Muhammad Qayyum to various foreign fora/authorities/courts withdrawing the requests earlier made by the Government of Pakistan for Mutual Legal Assistance; surrendering the status of Civil Party; abandoning the claims to the allegedly laundered moneys lying in foreign countries including Switzerland, have also been declared by us to be unauthorized and illegal communications and consequently of no legal effect, therefore, it is declared that the initial requests for Mutual Legal Assistance; securing the status of Civil Party and the claims lodged to the allegedly laundered moneys lying in foreign countries including Switzerland are declared never to have been withdrawn. Therefore the Federal Government and other concerned authorities are ordered to take immediate steps to seek revival of the said requests, claims and status;

(x)

that in view of the above noticed conduct of Malik Muhammad Qayyum, the then learned Attorney General for Pakistan in addressing unauthorized communications which had resulted in unlawful abandonment of claims of the Government of Pakistan, inter alia, to huge amounts of the allegedly laundered moneys lying in foreign countries including Switzerland, the Federal Government and all other competent authorities are directed to proceed against the said Malik Muhammad Qayyum in accordance with law in the said connection;

(xi)

that we place on record our displeasure about the conduct and lack of proper and honest assistance and cooperation on the part of the Chairman of the NAB, the Prosecutor General of the NAB and of the Additional Prosecutor General of the NAB, namely, Mr. Abdul Baseer Qureshi in this case. Consequently, it is not possible for us to trust them with proper and diligent pursuit of the cases falling within their respective spheres of operation. It is therefore, suggested that the Federal Government may make fresh appointments against the said posts of persons possessing high degree of competence and impeccable integrity in terms of Section 6 of the NAB Ordinance as also in terms of the observations of this Court made in the case of Khan Asfandyar Wali v. Federation of Pakistan (PLD 2001 SC 607). However, till such fresh appointments are so made, the present incumbents may continue to discharge their obligations strictly in accordance with law. They shall, however, transmit periodical reports of the actions taken by them to the Monitoring Cell of this Court which is being established through the succeeding parts of this judgment;

(xii) that a Monitoring Cell shall be established in the Supreme Court of Pakistan comprising of the Chief Justice of Pakistan or a Judge of the Supreme Court to be nominated by him to monitor the progress and the proceedings in the above noticed and other cases under the NAB Ordinance. Likewise similar Monitoring Cells shall be set up in the High Courts of all the Provinces comprising of the Chief Justice of the respective Province or Judges of the concerned High Courts to be nominated by them to monitor the progress and the proceedings in cases in which the accused persons had been acquitted or discharged under Section 2 of the NRO;

(xiii) that the Secretary of the Law Division, Government of Pakistan, is directed to take immediate steps to increase the number of Accountability Courts to ensure expeditious disposal of cases;

15. We place on record our deep sense of appreciation for the learned counsel for the parties as also for the learned amicii curiae who have rendered invaluable assistance to us in these matters.

The petitions stand allowed and disposed of by this short order in terms noted above.

Islamabad 16.12.2009

Irshad/*

APPROVED FOR REPORTING.