Explainer: What's an NRO? 12 years of history in 3mins

On Friday Prime Minister Imran Khan told TRT World that the Pakistani government was in talks with some groups of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to try to persuade them to lay down their arms.

The criticism was swift and sharp. How could Imran Khan offer an NRO to the militants who had killed so many Pakistanis and martyred so many soldiers? NRO is a short form, a synonym for amnesty in Pakistan.

Its history dates to 2007 when Musharraf decided to give politicians such as Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif an amnesty. Since then, the word NRO has come to stand in for forgiving people who have broken the law.

In this video we walk you through 12 years of history in under three minutes.

This piece was first published on November 18, 2019.