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Friday, April 02, 2010

SC gives govt five days for Swiss cases

* Court directs AG to meet law secretary, complete paperwork, file report by April 5
* Says NAB letter should be approved by PM
* AG tells court law minister impeding reopening of cases

By Masood Rehman

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday directed the attorney general to hold a meeting with the law secretary and complete paperwork to reopen Swiss cases against Asif Ali Zardari, and file a report with the court by April 5.

A seven-member larger bench – led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry – was hearing a suo motu notice on examining the implementation of the SC verdict declaring the NRO null and void.

The court ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to send a new letter to the Swiss government to reopen the cases against Zardari, and said the letter sent by NAB on Wednesday was “unsatisfactory”. The court observed that the letter should have been routed through the Law Ministry and approved by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

The chief justice said the letter had no legality, as it had not been written by the government itself.

The attorney general told the court that the Law Ministry had the NAB letter, and it would be sent to Switzerland in pursuance of legal procedures.

Appearing on notice, Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan told the court that he was facing problems in getting hold of records, particularly the ones related to the Swiss cases, for the implementation of the NRO verdict. He said Law Minister Babar Awan was “obstructing” the reopening of Swiss cases against Zardari. The chief justice then summoned the law secretary, and said the law minister could also be summoned if the secretary failed to satisfy the court.

Appearing on notice, Law Secretary Muhammad Aqil Mirza told the court that Awan was not creating hurdles in the process to reopen the Swiss cases.

The law secretary said he received three letters from the Foreign Affairs Ministry on Wednesday: one sought his opinion on the reopening of the Swiss cases, while the other two were for the Swiss authorities. He asked the court for time to compile his opinion on the letters for the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

The chief justice observed that “daily tensions are not good”, and the court only wanted its orders to be implemented. He said the reference against former attorney general Malik Muhammad Qayyum should be sent to NAB.

The hearing was later adjourned for an indefinite period.

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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