Presidential immunity: Direct contempt notice to parliament, says PM

Gilani stiffens stance on the issue of writing a letter to the Swiss authorities

LAHORE: Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Sunday appeared to deflect on to parliament the judicial reprimands he had borne earlier for inaction over the Swiss cases allegedly involving President Asif Ali Zardari.

Speaking to a group of reporters at the State Guest House, the premier said that the contempt of court notice should have been issued to parliament instead of him, since it was the legislative house that had granted transactional immunity to the president.

In articulating this suggestion, Gilani’s own stance on the issue of writing a letter to the Swiss authorities stiffened. On Sunday the premier categorically refused to write a letter to Swiss authorities for opening graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari – in defiance of the Supreme Court’s instructions.

The premier added: “If we were to write the letter to Swiss courts, why would we delay it for so long?”

According to him, the issue of (presidential) immunity ought to be referred to parliament just as the matter of appointment of top judges had been referred to it.

Observing that presidents, prime ministers and governors have transactional immunity across the world, Gilani conveyed the sense of hurt and anguish he felt over being singled out. “Why am I being victimised in the contempt proceedings?” the prime minister asked, adding: “My function was to follow the constitution”.

The premier also said it was not acceptable for him that he had been asked to write a letter to the Swiss authorities with a directive to not take advice from anyone.

“There are two cases which you know of – one is the contempt case in which my lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, is contesting the case. And then there is another case (NRO), in which I have no lawyer, where the court without hearing me or my lawyer has asked that this letter be written,” he added.

Referring to the NRO case, he said: “There is no mention of my name in the case, no arguments have been held, no time has been given and no lawyer has even been heard. Despite all this, a ruling has been given that prime minister should write the letter. Even I don’t know who this case is really related to ... is this right?”

Missing persons

The premier downplayed the issue of missing persons, saying that while there were controversies over the total number of missing persons it had now been found, according to him, that there were only 49 who were still missing. He said that he had directed law enforcement agencies to cooperate with the Balochistan government.

“I have (told them) that decomposed bodies, mutilated bodies and missing persons in Balochistan are not acceptable,” he added. Asked about what would happen if such incidents were to occur even after such directives, he merely said the matter was sub judice.

Gilani said that he had asked the local Balochistan political leadership to suggest whether he should call a jirga meeting to address the issues of the province, saying: “I’m still waiting for their reply”.

DG ISI

Turning to less touchy topics, Prime Minister Gilani then spoke about the recent appointment of Lt General Zaheerul Islam. When asked about on what grounds he was chosen and what task he has been delegated in order to rebuild Pak-US ties, the premier’s answer was short but simple:

“Islam has been appointed on merit as it has been generally prescribed, and now it will have to be seen what he has to deliver in this regard.” At the same time, he said: “Islam’s appointment is a change and will be a fresh start”.

On other issues

Referring to general elections, Prime Minister Gilani said that after the government presents the budget, he will discuss an appropriate date for the elections with his allies.

“The president is going to address the fifth joint session of Parliament on March 17  and considering that I have completed my five years, it’s up to our friends to agree on whether elections should be held three months before the end of tenure or not,” he said.

The prime minister touched upon a number of other topics. He avoided discussing the Mehran Bank scam issue, especially with reference to the mention of the Sharifs in the scam. The premier said the court should decide the issue. He also said that decisions would be taken on the resumption of allowing Nato supply routes to function after joint session on March 17.

Referring to the issue of a province in South Punjab, he said that the only hurdle was Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, adding that a resolution in the Punjab Assembly for such a province was necessary and had not been passed yet.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2012.