SC dismisses 3 petitions against NRO
By Saad Saud

ISLAMABAD—Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed three of the five petitions challenging National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) issued last year by President Pervez Musharraf to grant amnesty in corruption cases to slain former Premier Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari and has also dismissed stay order against the NRO by deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The petitions had been dismissed on the grounds that the petitioners Qazi Hussain Ahmed, Shahbaz Sharif and Tariq Asad did not pursue the petitions.
A five-member bench headed by Chief Justice Abdul Hameed dismissed petitions filed by Jamaat-e-Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed, PML-N leader Shahbaz Sharif, Dr Mubashir Hassan, Roedad Khan and Tariq Hassan challenging the constitutional validity of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO). Former Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had issued a stay against the NRO. On Wednesday when the proceedings started, Attorney General of Pakistan Malik Qayyum opposing the petitions told the court that the petitioners lawyers despite given ample time did not show up in the court to pursue the case therefore the petitions should be dismissed.