ISLAMABAD:
Minutes before his election as the new prime minster, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf received a strong message from the country’s highest court.
According to the Supreme Court’s cause list issued on Friday for next week, a three judge bench, led by Justice Nasirul Mulk, will resume hearing the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case on Wednesday, June 27 – the same case that led to the disqualification of Yousaf Raza Gilani as the premier.
During the last two hearings of the NRO case on May 3 and April 16, the bench abstained from passing any order in the case of appointments of several NRO beneficiaries to public offices.
A judicial notice is expected to be served upon the new premier on June 27 to implement the directives contained in paragraphs 177 and 178 of the NRO judgment, regarding writing a letter to Swiss authorities.
Gilani was charged with contempt by the Supreme Court for not writing a letter to Swiss authorities asking them to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. A seven judge bench of the apex court, which was also headed by Justice Mulk, awarded Gilani a 37-second punishment on April 26. The court had made it clear to Gilani that the NRO verdict penned down by the full court on Dec 16, 2009, had given categorical directions in paragraphs 177 and 178 regarding writing a letter to Swiss authorities.
During the previous hearing of the NRO implementation case, the NAB chairman’s counsel, Shaiq Usmani, submitted three inquiry reports of NRO beneficiaries allegedly appointed by Gilani. The first report was on Adnan Khawaja, who was appointed the Navtec chairman and then OGDCL chairman allegedly on Gilani’s orders.
The second inquiry report was on Ahmed Riaz Sheikh, who was appointed the Federal Investigation Agency’s additional director-general, while the third report was on former attorney general Malik Qayyum. The court, however, rejected the reports and ordered a complete record along with the summaries and dates of appointments.
Published In The Express Tribune, June 23rd, 2012.
COMMENTS (28)
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When the allegations against 9 generals and son of Chief Justice., appear they are all baseless and conspiracy. However, the selective justice against the elected secular leaders is all fair and meets the highest levels of justice. The CJ’s family and generals cannot do this, corruption is limited to current rulers it was not there before them and would disappear after them. By the way, Gen Musharraf was a clean leader and Chief Justice is clean, yet they called and tried to prove the other corrupt!
I think, the civil society, intellectuals and known jurists like I A Rehman, Fakhurudin G Ibrahim and Asma Jahangir etc. must step in to stop SC from from further adventurism and destabilizing the civilian set up by becoming a party in this case.
The main thing is Zardari's 60 Million in the swiss Bank. If he is innocent, then why not he just write a letter to the swiss authorities and end this matter once and for all???.. :O
@Freeman:
It hasn't hurt Arsalan Chaudhary one bit.
In the past only the politicians acted immature. Now even those entrusted with dispensing justice. And those stone throwing, police-beating so-called lawyers, whoa! Unbelievable.
You all just listen to Mr. Hassan Nisar, a true patriotic pakistani, try to understand him.
It seems only thing which is happening in our country is litigation. Judiciary please do not turn the whole nation into a habitual litigators.
Let government pay some attention to economic development instead of getting ready for court attendance on daily basis. Over assertive justice system is distracting energy and resources.
Awam wants the basic problems to be solved. They are not interested whether Justice Choudhry Or Gilani Or RAJA wins or loses. So please do not bring your fights to our door step.
If there were any substance in this case then despite keeping Zardari in jail for two decades none of these same judges found him guilty in any case. Now they want to outsource their job to Swiss court via the PM. Why would the SC not send a notification to the Swiss authorities by itself? Why does the court want to start the whole drama all over again as if they have nothing else of public interest to do? Why not public hearings on electricity, education, terrorism for a change?
Fed up of this ego war between CJ and PPP. Can't we focus on developing Pakistan.
If CJ is that much serious, he shud start hearing cases against Zardari and gives verdict in next two months and close the chapter.
Also to show his neutrality he has to take up the cases of Shareef as well otherwise people will remember him as One Sided Judge.
Anyway. STOP THIS NON SENSE WAR PLEASE
@Jaipal dahiya: Sorry man, lets court what better for our country. We don't need corrupt leaders
@Jpy: If govt. does not do anything for the people then Judiciary has to come forward to stop poor people tears. Millions of people have lots of hope with Judiciary. Govt. delibrately kept SC busy by not accepting their decissions so Jusdiciary could nto concentrate to other 100s of cases. This is what present govt. policy to keep judiciary busy and take more time.
@shahid: No its not hurting the country. Its hurting criminals who have looted poor people money and sent illegally to Swiss banks and enjoying their life. Poor people do not even have one time meal.
This is not an ordinary case to write a letter to the editor to any newspaper, it is amatter of writing a letter to Swiss Authorities against the sitting President.
If the PPP government is so sure to complete its 5 years tenure, I think that number of Prime Ministers will be indicted in this case and every one has to go to back home.
If this will happen again, I am sure that Army will move and Martial Law will be imposed and General Pervez Musharraf will be called to head the government once again and until fresh elections will take place.
Judiciary should give Raja 2 days to comply before the proverbial baja goes off.
@Ahmer Ali: It is not a matter of writing or not writing the letter. As Dr. Ahsan has said it is fine either way it is not going to make any difference to the president. The problem is political and in the next elections. The PCO SC and the rightwing opposition would take the letter as the admission of guilt and use it in the next elections. The Swiss authorities have already said that they cannot do anything against a sitting president and if Pakistani courts want then what are they for, why don't the courts in Pakistan try him? In addition that case is time barred and nothing can happen except in the next elections the opponents would use the letter written by a PPP PM against its party chief. Regards, Mirza
Zardari how many prime ministers will you sacrifice to protect yourself from Swiss cases????At least now end your this contrary and write the letter to Swiss authorities and why are you afraid of writing the letter to the Swiss authorities whereas you have clearly said that you are innocent and have spent approximately 10 years in the jail innocently and you have immunity/exemption in Pakistan according to the article 248 and abroad as well?
With so much judicial activism I wonder Pakistan is not the right place for democracy. Pakistan it familiar with some kind of dictatorship either military or judiciary
Action recorded in history about the Judiciary excessive in reference to NRO. Hundreds of NRO beneficiaries are free and enjoying life, with out any immunity of their position, but LAW is not free to look upon them.
Impeach the judges for Judicial misconduct.
There were more than 7000 cases under NRO. The PCO dictators have forgotten about most all the cases except the one against elected leaders of PPP. The other cases involved multiple murders and other serious criminal allegations but the “independent” judiciary and the lower PCO trial court has no interest in the severity of cases. The SC and LHC are only taking up the most politically beneficial cases against the elected leaders of PPP. The cases about the corruption of Sharif, his attack on SC, his party members attacking a police station to release his corrupt NA member (whose membership is not suspended by the SC CJ, surprise surprise), Asghar Khan’s case, Arsalan’s get rich quick billionaire case, BB’s murder case would never get the attention they deserve.
Let justice be done.The orders of Supreme Court have to be respected and enforced
I salute the judiciary.......may ALLAH (SWT) bless you all for standing up against the corrupt politicians.
Lets finish the case of nepotism and corruption against against Arsalan Chaudhury and his father first before opening this new case against the new PM. How about that ?
I think the parliament and constitution are supreme. The judiciary should restrain its activisim in the larger interest of the nation. Just as the judiciary (and its supporters who are doing politics on this crisis) argue that there is no harm in writing letter to the swiss courts, I request the judiciary that there is no harm in waiting to order writing of the letter till Zardari ceases to be Presifent. After all, the constitution is very clear in giving him immunity, even if it (judiciary) interprets it otherwise.
Once there was a judicial murder, then came justice induced political martyrdom and here comes judicial vendetta. Why we are bent to spiral the country into total chaos in the name of Justice. Excess of every thing is bad so is selective justice. People are already raising eyebrows about tilting of the scale of justice.
For the welfare of pak public,court should now stop playing politics and let the new premier concentrate on his work
Justice general Chaudhry the bull in the china's shop! I