KARACHI, April 27: The withdrawal process of criminal cases registered against political leaders and activists after scrutiny under the National Reconciliation Ordinance 2007 has come to a halt since the post of Sindh prosecutor-general has been lying vacant for over five months.

The Sindh Criminal Prosecution Service still awaits the appointment of the prosecutor-general after the post fell vacant when the first prosecutor-general, Rana Shamim, was appointed as a Sindh High Court judge in the post-Nov 3, 2007 situation.

The delay in the appointment has hampered the withdrawal process as all the applications seeking withdrawal of cases under the NRO are to be filed to the prosecutor-general’s office, which refers the cases for scrutiny to the review board, constituted by the Sindh government under the NRO on October 9, 2007.

Sources said the review board, which had processed over 2,500 cases and recommended most of them after close scrutiny for withdrawal, was not examining the cases at present. However, the scrutiny of cases might be resumed soon as the new head of the board was expected to convene a meeting in the next few days. Retired Justice Dr Ghaus Mohammad, who was heading the board, was recently replaced by retired Justice Roshan Ali Ehsani.

Sindh Law Secretary Syed Ghulam Nabi Shah, who is one of the members of the review board, told Dawn that the board had received more than 2,500 cases from the prosecutor-general under the NRO. After close scrutiny, the board had submitted its report carrying recommendations for the withdrawal of the cases to the former chief minister for approval.

“However, we are not examining the cases currently since the new head of the review board has recently taken over and he is likely to convene a meeting soon,” he added.

Sources said that 400 cases were reviewed and rejected by the board since such cases had nothing to do with political victimisation. However, they added, most of the cases recommended by the review board for withdrawal involved Muttahida Quami Movement leaders and activists.

Under Sub-section 3 of Section 2 of the National Reconciliation Ordinance, the review board is empowered to look into the entire record of the cases pending against any person, including an absconding accused found to have been falsely involved for political reasons or as a result of political victimisation.

The board may review any case initiated between Jan 1, 1986, and Oct 12, 1999, and furnish recommendations to the government of Sindh regarding their withdrawal from prosecution or otherwise.

When the special secretary home department, Rasheed Alam, was asked about the status of cases, he said that he did not have any idea regarding the cases under the NRO, as it was actually the responsibility of the criminal prosecution service department to maintain the record and proceed in accordance with the law.

‘SCPS not onboard’

When the Sindh Criminal Prosecution Service (SCPS) Secretary, Ishaq Lashari, was questioned about the cases received or referred by the department under the NRO, he said that the SCPS had neither received nor had sent any criminal case against political leaders or workers for withdrawal under the NRO from or to the authorities concerned. “We have so far not been taken onboard by the relevant authorities in this regard,” he added.

The SCPS was constituted by the Sindh governor on May 13, 2007, with the promulgation of the Sindh Criminal Prosecution Services (constitution, functions and powers) Ordinance 2007. The department was to supervise police and other divisions’ investigations into criminal cases in order to ensure the independent prosecution of cases where justice was doubted, the speedy disposal of cases that had been pending for many years and independent and efficient service for the prosecution of criminal cases. In this manner, it was thought, the justice system in the province could be improved.

In addition to the cases seeking withdrawal under the NRO 2007, the fate of over 66,000 criminal cases pending in different courts across the province still hangs in the balance as the SCPS awaits the appointment of the Sindh prosecutor-general.