Contempt case: Judges induction on PM’s advice vindicates his status says Naek

Says NA speaker has final say in premier’s disqualification case.

ISLAMABAD:

Law Minister Farooq Naek on Friday said that the appointment of high court judges on the advice and approval of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani vindicated the constitutional status of the premier, who was recently convicted by the Supreme Court in a contempt case.

“The president has approved the appointment of the Lahore and Balochistan High Courts judges on the advice of Prime Minister Gilani. This very act removes all controversies surrounding the status of Premier Gilani as the chief executive of Pakistan,” Farooq Naek underlined while talking to Express News.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday approved the confirmation of eight judges, five for Lahore High Court and three for Balochistan High Court, besides giving a one-year extension to four additional judges of the former.

“The law ministry has issued the notification and now these judges are likely to be administered the oath by the provincial chief justices in a day or two. Once this is over, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz should come to terms with the reality and acknowledge Prime Minister Gilani’s legitimacy as the premier and his constitutional status,” Naek maintained.

Naek said his participation in the judicial commission meeting held on Monday was another indication of the fact that the judiciary acknowledges the constitutional status of the prime minister’s cabinet. Elaborating the role of National Assembly Speaker Dr Fehmida Mirza in the premier’s disqualification, the law minister claimed that it is she who has the final authority to decide whether or not he is disqualified for being found guilty in the contempt case. He reminded that she had a 30-day time period to make the decision, which will end on May 25. He also added that “the judges of the Lahore and Balochistan High Courts have stated that the final authority to disqualify a Member of Parliament lies with the National Assembly speaker or Senate chairman,” he reiterated.

Replying to a query, the law minister explained that the election commission could not take any action against the prime minister, unless the speaker refers the decision to the commission. “If the speaker believes that question of disqualification does not arise, the matter stands settled once and for all with her judgment,” Naek contended.

Moreover, he said that until Gilani’s appeal is heard by the SC, Fehmida Mirza would have to hold on her decision.

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