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Wednesday, June 05, 2013
SC hints at taking up Swiss cases againISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday hinted at taking up Swiss cases very soon, which may again irk President Asif Ali Zardari.
Hearing the case of illegal appointments of two NRO beneficiaries, a three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, told the NAB prosecutor general that after the disposal of the present case, the court would examine the matter about bringing back the money stashed in Swiss banks. The chief justice also said that although the government had written a letter regarding the reopening of Swiss cases but it would be necessary to know about the money that was lying in Swiss banks.
It is worth mentioning that there was a severe clash between the Supreme Court and previous regime of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) regarding the reopening of Swiss cases against President Zardari for three years and the PPP-led government was reluctant to write the letter in this regard. The Supreme Court had also initiated contempt proceedings against two PPP premiers in NRO case, one being Yousaf Raza Gilani. Several top officers like law secretaries, attorney generals and NAB officials were ousted due to the court’s proceedings over the implementation of its judgement in NRO case.
Both the PPP premiers had appeared in the apex court six times last year. After a three-year-long tussle between the executive and the court, the PPP-led government finally implemented the court’s judgement by writing a letter to the Swiss authorities at the end of the last year, but the Swiss government has conveyed to the Pakistani government that alleged corruption cases against President Zardari could not be reopened. The court will resume hearing
of the case today (Wednesday). hasnaat malikCourtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk