News
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Step back and step forward* Raja tells SC he has instructed law minister to write to Switzerland to withdraw a letter sent in 2007 by then AG which asked authorities there to halt probes against Zardari
* Court says govt will produce authorisation to write letter, draft of the letter, dispatch to and receipt by Swiss authorities and confirmation of such communication
ISLAMABAD: After three years of judiciary-executive clash on the implementation of NRO judgement, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on Tuesday took a U-turn by allowing the law minister to write to Swiss authorities to withdraw a letter written in 2007 by then attorney general Malik Qayyum asking to stop probe into corruption cases against President Asif Zardari.
The PM pleaded that in face of various national and international issues and pressing engagements he should be given personal exemption from appearing in the court. “After looking into the complexities of the issue, I have instructed the law minister that the letter written by Malik Qayyum, former attorney general, which the court had termed unauthorised and illegal in its judgement, would be withdrawn,” Raja said.
Praising the premier’s efforts towards resolution of this longstanding issue, the Supreme Court asked the law minister to furnish the draft of the letter on September 25. So far, the court has not stopped the contempt proceedings against the PM, but it granted him exemption from personal appearance until further orders.
The PM’s fresh move has not only astonished the SC but senior Pakistan People’s Party leaders said they were unaware in this regard.
It has been witnessed that most of them were questioning each other that why did not the party leadership adopt this strategy in former premier Yousaf Raza Gilani’s contempt of court case.
On August 27, a five-member bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, showed flexibility and asked PM Raja to authorise either Law Minister Farooq H Naek or the attorney general to resolve the matter.
On Tuesday, Raja told the court he had already ordered the law minister to implement the relevant direction contained in Para 178 of the NRO judgement.
The PM pointed out that he had made sincere efforts to address the concerns of federation and uphold dignity of the judiciary. He said the concerns were not about the person of Asif Zardari but about the office of the president.
Enumerating his pressing engagements, he said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was due in Pakistan on October 2 to attend the four-nation conference while President Asif Zardari would leave for New York to address United Nations to highlight problems facing Pakistan.
Most recently, a large area of the country’s land was inundated with floods while the general elections were just round the corner, he observed.
Feeling satisfaction with his recently concluded visit to China, the prime minister said that he also felt pressure from media who inquired about the instant issue.
While praising the PM’s stance, Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa assured him that the bench would address federation’s concerns and would not go beyond what they had written in Para 178.
Drawing his attention to a verdict in former prime minister’s contempt case, Justice Khosa said that they had already written four paras regarding international immunity for the head of state under customary laws.
Justice Khosa said the prime minister had made “serious efforts” to resolve the standoff but the court wanted to see the letter before it was sent to the Swiss to check if it fulfilled the order dating back to December 2009.
“It is necessary we should be fully satisfied that the requirement of the order is fully met,” the judge said.
“When the letter is drafted it shall be presented in the court for our perusal.”
The judge adjourned the case to September 25 and instructed ministers to have the draft letter ready by then. He said Raja would not need to attend court until further notice.
Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani was thrown out of office in June after being convicted of contempt of court for refusing to write to the Swiss, and it seemed his successor Raja could suffer the same fate.
Analyst and author Hasan Askari said the move would probably satisfy the court and bring the standoff to an end, but cases against Zardari were unlikely to restart any time soon.
“Swiss authorities have three options: they can stay quiet on this matter because it is already 15 years old, they can wait till Zardari is no longer president, or they can start the case proceedings,” Askari told AFP.
“If they decide to re-open the case, the government of Pakistan will seek presidential immunity from the Swiss authorities on the basis of international convention as well as Pakistan’s constitutional provision.”
Askari said he thought it was unlikely the cases would proceed in Switzerland as long as Zardari was president, though he could be unseated if the PPP loses a general election expected early next year.
“In a way the Supreme Court has bypassed the presidential immunity and has indirectly sought court proceedings against a sitting president in a foreign country,” Askari said.
“This perhaps (is) unprecedented in the state system, that the highest court in a country wants its sitting president to be prosecuted in a foreign country.”
Law Minister Farooq H Naek assured the bench that he was not seeking time for any other reason but would make efforts to draft a letter for the satisfaction of the bench.
“We want to give a message to the nation that there is no clash of institutions”, he maintained.
Upon his assurance, the bench adjourned further hearing until September 25, and wrote in its order that the PM and the law minister had undertaken before the court that authorisation letter and draft of the letter would be produced before the court to meet requirement of direction in Para 178 of the NRO judgement. hasnaat malik/agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk