Embattled Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari was Wednesday fighting for his survival after the Supreme Court declared the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) unconstitutional and pointed fingers toward millions of dollars ‘secretly' stashed abroad by him. The 287-page detailed judgment by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry – made public late Tuesday, cited the example of Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos, whose laundered money was brought back from the safety vaults of Swiss banks, said such incidents could be taken as reference in similar cases. The verdict, which was released on Tuesday, referred to the cases of Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, late president of the Philippines, and Sani Abacha, head of the state of Nigeria, who were found involved in corruption and corrupt practices and were charged accordingly. The verdict said that Pakistan is also signatory to the United Nation's Convention Against Corruption, 2005 and had ratified it on Aug. 31 2007, regarding international cooperation in criminal matters. Zardari has summoned an emergency meeting of the Pakistan People's Party parliamentary party to discuss the detailed verdict of the Supreme Court. Federal Law Minister Babar Awan and formr attorney general Latif Khosa held meeting with President Zardari in Governor House Lahore, Wednesday and discussed the future strategy. Sources also said the government would make further consultation on the NRO in Islamabad. After the meeting in Lahore, President Zardari left for Islamabad for further consultation with the PPP leaders. The government has been reluctant to implement the apex court's short order (of Dec. 16) against the NRO, saying that it would do so only after receiving the detailed judgment. Now, that the 68,930-word judgment is out, it still remains to be seen that what action the PPP government takes against Zardari. In September 2000, Filipino Anti-Corruption Court had made, prima facie, decision that the entire $627 million of Marcos' funds, be repatriated from Switzerland, and were to be considered the property of Philippines.
