‘Summary sent to PM flawed’

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court told off the acting law secretary Sultan Shah for having misinformed the premier in a summary regarding the reopening of cases against President Asif Zardari. The law ministry has now been told to prepare a fresh summary containing the relevant portions of the apex court’s December 16, 2009 verdict on the National Reconciliation Ordinance.

The five-member bench headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk was hearing the case regarding the non-implementation of the judgement. At the heart of the dispute is the reopening of Swiss cases against Zardari, something the government is anxious to avoid and the court is equally determined to see.

During Thursday’s hearing, Attorney General of Pakistan Maulvi Anwarul Haq submitted a statement on behalf the law ministry, stating that the ministry had dispatched a summary asking for the prime minister’s directions regarding the reopening issue. Haq then told the bench that the premier had approved the stance of law ministry regarding implementation of the verdict. However, the bench demanded a copy of the summary as well as attendance by the acting law secretary.

On Friday then, Shah informed the bench comprising Mulk and Justices Raja Fayyaz, Jawwad S Khwaja, Rahmat Hussain Jafferi and Justice Tariq Pervez that in the summary, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had been requested to not write to the Swiss authorities for the reopening of cases against Zardari. The prime minister, said Shah, had given his approval.

To this, Mulk said that the premier had been misguided by the summary which was contradicting the orders of the court in the NRO verdict.

During the course of proceedings, the bench also reminded Shah and Haq that defiance of court orders could place the government on the wrong side of article 6 of the constitution, which prescribes attempts to subvert the constitution as a treasonable offence.

Adjourning the hearing of the case for two weeks, Mulk directed the law ministry to send a fresh summary to the prime minister regarding the reopening of the Swiss cases. The ministry was also told to reproduce the relevant portion of the verdict in the summary.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2010.