Memogate commission: PPP brigade charges at Nawaz, Supreme Court

Law minister says PML-N chief ‘using’ the apex court for his political ambitions.

HYDERABAD:

The ruling party is attempting to kill two birds – judicial activism and belligerent opposition – with one stone: the memo scandal.

Federal Law Minister Maula Bux Chandio on Saturday railed against Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief for petitioning the court in the memo scandal and accused him of “putting a very honourable and impartial institution at stake for [his] own political ambitions.”

Chandio’s outburst is part of the defiance shown by the Pakistan Peoples Party’s leadership against the Supreme Court’s order for instituting a commission to probe the memo scandal.

“The judiciary is being involved when the army has stopped meddling in the political affairs and is also supporting the democratic government,” Chandio said.

When asked if the government will file a review appeal in the Supreme Court on its commission order, the law minister said the government’s legal experts are considering all constitutional provisions in that regard.

Chandio accused Nawaz of conspiring to topple the government, since it came to power.

“Why don’t they resign from parliament if they have lost faith in the institution?” Chandio said.

The N-League chief honoured his promise with former president Pervez Musharraf by allowing him 10 years in power but could not wait for the PPP government to complete its tenure, he added.

PPP, SC not at loggerheads

The law minister tried to dispel the impression that his party is always at loggerheads with the judiciary.

He said several federal ministers have appeared before the court, and the party has given precedence to the judicial commission, over the Parliamentary Committee, for appointment of judges.

“As a law minister, I might have disagreed with the appointment of a certain judge in our meetings but despite that, I always followed the judicial commission’s decisions,” he said.

He was relentless, though, on the charge against memo commission: “We respect the judiciary but we have constitutional right to disagree with its decisions,” he said.

Taj Hyder seconds Chandio

Chandio was seconded by General Secretary PPP Sindh Taj Hyder who said: “The Supreme Court’s decision to constitute a committee to probe into the [memogate] case is direct interference in the affairs of parliament, which is supreme to all institutions in the country.”

Addressing a joint press conference with the provincial Information Minister Shazia Marri, Hyder said the court nominated a former police official to head the committee, who appears to be affiliated with a particular political party.

Hyder said that hearing of memogate case scandal at the apex court is a violation of parliament’s sovereignty and the court’s integrity.

The PPP leader, however, appeared to vindicate the court later and said that by petitioning it over the memogate scandal, Nawaz Sharif had orchestrated an attack on the Supreme Court.

(With additional input by our correspondent in Karachi.)

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2011.