News
Friday, May 07, 2010
SC unhappy, summons law secretary, NAB chairman on 13th : Swiss cases can’t be reopened, govt tells SC
* AGP says chapter of pending Swiss cases ‘closed’, no correspondence required with Swiss govt
* Justice Fayyaz says govt ‘not serious’ about implementing court ordersBy Masood Rehman
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday summoned the law secretary and the NAB chairman on May 13 after a five-member bench was told that there is no need for correspondence with the Swiss authorities, as graft cases against Asif Ali Zardari “cannot be reopened”.
The bench – headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk – was hearing a suo motu notice taken against the lack of implementation of the verdict declaring the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) illegal and unconstitutional.
Appearing on notice, Attorney General Justice (r) Maulvi Anwarul Haq filed a statement by Law Secretary Justice (r) Aqil Ali Mirza — which read that the “chapter of pending Swiss cases has been closed... no communication is required with the Swiss authorities to reopen these cases”.
Justice Nasirul Mulk observed that the SC verdict on the NRO contained “clear directives” for the federal government and the provincial governments to comply with the order and reopen the cases against beneficiaries of the amnesty. He also reminded the attorney general of the NAB chairman’s letters – one purportedly addressed to the Law Ministry and the other to the Switzerland’s Federal Court of Justice – seeking the revival of the cases against Zardari.
No letter: However, the attorney general said no letter had been despatched by the government to the Swiss authorities.
Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed observed that the government was bound to implement the court order in letter and spirit, but it appeared the government was “not serious about complying with court directives”. He questioned how much more time the government needed to implement the NRO verdict.
The attorney general said the government had no bad intentions in the context of the implementation of the court orders.
Justice Jawwad S Khawaja then admonished the attorney general, and showed him a statement made by former attorney general Anwar Mansoor Khan – who had said he tried his best to persuade the Law Ministry to communicate with the Swiss authorities for the revival of the cases, but the law minister obstructed the process. When Justice Nasirul Mulk asked whose approval was required for communication with the Swiss authorities, the attorney general could not give a satisfactory reply. The court later adjourned the hearing until May 13.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk