Federation says Ashraf cannot write Swiss letter, SC rejects reply
The court said that the objections raised mentioned those orders that the court issued to the prime minister on June 26 and July 12, but neither were the copies of these orders attached with the plea submitted nor are these orders revokable.
The court also said that if the federation wished to get these orders repealed, then it should have, as per the rules and regulations of the Supreme Court, filed a plea for reviewing them.
Earlier, in its reply submitted to the Supreme Court, the federation stated on Tuesday that Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf cannot write a letter to Swiss authorities.
Ashraf had been given a deadline to explain his position regarding writing a letter to Swiss authorities to re-open graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
The federal government further said that the court orders given to the prime minister could not be followed and that they should be withdrawn.
The Supreme Court in its last hearing had observed that if Ashraf fails to comply with the court’s orders then proceedings according to law and the Constitution will be leveled against him.
Former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has already been held in contempt and subsequently disqualified by the Supreme Court of Pakistan for not complying with its orders.
Express News correspondent Faisal Shakeel reported that the Supreme Court has consumed one of the six options it had given in the NRO implementation case by holding Gilani in contempt, which is why it will deliberate on the remaining five options.
The options were: disqualification, contempt proceedings, commission implements NRO, claim immunity, action against NAB chief, leave it to the people.
In the reply, the federation also stated that the federal cabinet has not yet given any suggestions to Ashraf on whether or not a letter should be written, therefore, he is not ready for taking any decision at the moment.
COMMENTS (69)
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I have two questions for the ongoing imbroglio? Q1: While many liberals are bashing SC and its zealot Judges for their supposed judicial-overreach and most of the conservatives are dreaming of the day when the court ousts the President of the Islamic Republic for shepherding an (allegedly) corrupt government, what side (SC or Gov.) do you think have the potential to do more lasting-damage to the prospects of a prosperous future of this beleaguered country? A government that is setting examples of defying courts or a court that is becoming an executive? Q2: What do you think is the role of lawyers to tame down the judiciary now? Should there be another lawyer’s movement now to tell the SC that if lawyers can stand against a military dictator, they can also stand against a judicial dictator?
@Dr.A.K.Tewari: Amen
A judicial dictator may face a judicial coup in the country.
If PTI managed to win a considerable seats with the support of pco judges, even then they will not be in a position to rule the country without American support . If they came in the power due to support of terrorists and fanatics ,the money supply from America will be blocked . The Tsunami will be never allowed to reach in Islamabad for distruction .
SC and their acolytes are daily singing one song '' Chithi Mairay Saeyan Jee Kay Naam Likh Dy - Haal Mairay Dil Ka Tamam Likh Dy ''. Their needle is only strucked on writing a letter as if all other issues both domestic and international have no importance. I agree with AG that they can be packed and sacked just as it happened in Singapore. Writing a letter is not a public issue. Please stop playing others game.
PCO CJ says that nobody is above the law, But who has the right to control these highly controversial PCO judges and how could we punish them for the violation of Constitution & laws of the land. Present apex court is behaving & working just like a mafia. Let democracy work otherwise...
Guys, does anyone know the current Swiss stand on all of this? I thought they said this matter had been closed. There is much talk about the case, but will the Swiss even act on this anymore? I don't think so, This may all be a waste of time. Someone should ask the Swiss what they will do on receipt of The Letter.
If the superum court feel so authoritative,and dominating organ of the State,why the chief justice cant write the the desired letter himself ,under his seal and signature of the suprium court? So the nation could see ..the Bonapartism of the apex court against the Govt ,elected by the power of people s VOTE ....,if any doubt,.the recent Multan election result may very kindly be attached as rare docoument in the superium court records
Keep it up SC and CJ, we are with you till the last blood.
@naeem khan Manhattan,Ks: "IS THAT SO DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND?" No, it is very easy to understand, there is only One way Justice going on. 20year old case had been put into the dustbin while day to day trial is going on against one person. Do you think, that we People are blind & deaf?
neem khan@ manjathan very innocent stand for PCO judiciary before bringing money from Swiss banksn, the court should make mr Arsalan depost forty billion rupees in court or treasury as this money Is from CORUPTION and bribery It is not supreme courts job to go after money perceived to be in foreighn accounts
A MOCKERY OF SUPREME COURTS IS BEING MADE ON THE NAME OF MONEY IN SWISS BANKS ... Billions are being spent and and court time casting billions is being wasted in revenge politics by courts
Already said that Raja rental will not prefer to write letter to Swiss officials, nothing will happen to him accept leaving his post but if will do so than he will be kicked off from his party.
@DREAMER!!!, I don't think the Supreme Court of Pakistan has any grudge against the PPP or Zardari, all you have to do is to look up their past and present records, Zardari had amassed billions and stashed it in overseas banks and never paid any income tax to the Pakistani treasury. The Swiss government froze their accounts and where did they get the money, it is so simple. And of course look at this Rental Raja, how much money did he make and put it in London and went on buying spree there. The whole country is sliding towards lawlessness and everybody is for themselves, loot as much you want because there is no tomorrow. One should appreciate what the SC is doing and briging this ill gotten money back to the Pakistani Treasury. How much the Supreme Court could do when the whole government officials are corrupt to the core. IS THAT SO DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND?
PCO group of five have one point agenda to target PPP . . . . While PMLn & PTI are the Cheerleaders . . . ;-)
@Uza Syed: and in reward for his services, he should be given yet another plot in Islamabad. Of course accountability is only meant for Polticians. Who will judge the judges? Oooooooops, sorry- for making a noise. Its simply a game of "interests" and reminds me of that famous line "Its all about Economics, stupid". Talk about audit, accountability of judiciary- they will say we can not be made accountable but in their judgements they would love to mention "Khilafat Rashida" and Khalil Gibran. Try to investigate a serving or retired General for corruption charges, the whole institution will stand to support him in the name of "national interest" (NLC scam is just one recent example). Keep on giving them a hefty chunk out of the resources, keep them happy, let them do whatever they feel like, dont ask them questions, let them take away whatever they desire for. This compromised approach will never work. All Democratic forces will have to join hands to get rid of these built in weaknesses, compromises of civilian authority and governance in Pakistan.
parvaiz ashraf is just joy riding.
The chief justice can't take sou moto against sitting president because of 248C. So he is sending all the governments home because they refuse to right letter to a foreign country asking them to investigate.
Isn't that pathetic? The chief justice has nothing else to do except trying to overthrow governents and taking sou motos only against them?
When will this musical chairs game of PM's end in Pakistan ? The country is becoming laughing stock in the eyes of the whole world.
@Ch. Allah Daad:
You all are on the same side (:
Supreme court must take a firm stand. The Multan by-election victory has given PPP government a new life, (all thanks to PTI's stabbing in the back) but PML(N) is still on its side.
I agree, he can not write a letter.
Direct confrontation with elected representatives of People of Pakistan? Iftkhar Ch. have mercy on us!
Our own courts turned enemies of Federation, no need of any external enemies. Why not they solve the problems of lower courts so that poor people get justice in time and cost effective way???
The PCO judges must take a fresh oath under the 1973 constitution. Otherwise their allegiance is with something/someone else.
In older age people tend to become cynical, and we are seeing clear signs of it. The retirement age of the judge should be reduced to 60, like all other government servants. We need saner people discussing the constitutional matters.
The Supreme Court must force the issue and not settle on a compromise. Those who claim that this would derail democracy should ask themselves that if this is democracy then who are the beneficiaries. Certainly not the people.
Just shaking my head by reading some of the comments which have highest recommendtion on this forum. I am not sure who are these people who are criticsing the role of SC which is the ONLY state's organ working for the nation.
Is ET also being part of that negative campagin, as disclosed by Hamid Mir on Policy Matters, against judiciary? Watch out ET - a recent attempt by a prominent media groups to malign SC was also brutllay exposed.
@harkol: Quite frankly it's an embarrassment to read the unveiled threats of the judges. Unbecoming!
We need an SC-2 as well. This street fighter type SC has no time for normal cases. At this rate the number of pending cases will become unmanageable for the future, judges.
Now that SC has told PM has to write a letter, perhaps the next step is to dictate the contents of the letter, while PM sits down like a clerk and writes it down??
These judges have gone from being servile slaves of Dictators to being monsters without leash. What a pity.
@Fahim Alavi: Human rights? No. But, with all the publicity, one would think that most are well aware that the letter would have come about through a form of blackmail and not truly an official request. It should invalidate it so says common sense. It's about privacy and confidentiality for people as a whole, rather than isolated to Zardari and they can't make exceptions. Writing it with a gun to your head is completely different than writing it willingly as far as that type of thing is concerned.
@Buy and Sell In Pakistan: Justice Iftikhar is settling his personal vendetta against Zaradari. It is not the simple matter of writing letter. It is the issue of prestige of the office of the constitutional Head of State. Though Zardari surrendered his may powers and one can say that he laid before the judiciary and on advice of SC he sacked more than 100 judges, 2 NAB chairmen, PG NAB, Attorney Generals, Secretary Law, DGs FIA but now he is not ready to surrender the prestige attached to his office. SC is riding on the weak political government due to weak, appologetic stand of government but now it looks that Government has decided to send strong message.
Prime Minister should write a letter in compliance of the supreme court's order and show his sincerity with the oath.
@Imdad Ali Shah: If he has moved his monay away to some other county...that in it self is a crime under swiss law ..if true AZ will have to face two money lanudering cases..the rope is getting tight aganist this man..his time is very near...I pray that he takes the first flght out before his own get rid of him and that will be a very sorry affair for Pakistan's politices
Government never takes the pleas of president's imunity before the Supreme Court whereas on media it propogates that letter could not be written due to Constitutional immunity.
Bhai Jaan, hearing of NRO implementation case is on July 25th while you have given complete details of whole proceedings one day before. Strange.
Who will rein in the SC? It is getting out of control.
@Mehboob:
Daydreaming is not good (:
In the contempt case against ex-PM Gillani, the government was too much appologetic, signalling wealness. Now it looks that this time the government will give strong message to the judiciary and has reiterated that 7- member bench has no authority to summon Prime Minister. There is also speculation that government will retaliate if the new contempt law legislated by parliament is struck down or another Prime minister is sacked. Anyhow, this reply and the recent statement of PM is a load and message to the trouble making judiciary. The confrontation perpetuated by Justice Iftikhar may console his disturbed mind but it is not at all in the interest of Pakistan which is facing grave problems of terrorism, sectarianism, energy crises and its poor people.
No dramas anymore. We want Musharraf back.
if there is nothing to hide then there is no reason to be afraid to write the swiss letter, its as simple as that. by not writing the letter they r making everyone suspect that there is some thing fishy going on. and why cant the president come out in the open and talk to the nation and clear the foggy atmosphere once and for all? im getting sick of the Govt and the SC with all this childish circus. these ppl need to run a country and do some serious work. The swiss letter episodes had become like a soap oprea.
whose next
@Faysal:
Government´s statements are on record. They accepted the order with reservations to ensure dignity of the SC, it doesn’t mean that judgment was correct. There is a history of Wrong Judgments of SC.
No Zardari, No Nawaz, No Imran Khan.
We want Pakistan Army.
The government should register a case under article 6 against the supreme court for removing the Prime Minister unconstitutionally.
Dear CJ, and the SC.
There are more important issues right now lingering across Pakistan and require urgent attention. Please stop these expensive personal trials, and move on to what we pay you for!! Be a judge, not a DICTATOR. You can buy the media, but there is still some sanity left in the nation.
By accepting Gilani's dismissal, the Government tacitly agreed that the SC is right, now how come they disagree to it???
i think this calls for a 60 sec punishment this time. Can we have the next PM please.
Better reserve another room at the President house!
Only corrupt defends the corrupt. So long PPP.
@nabishah: why Army .?? they should stay in their Boots.
Dear All What do you guys think, would there be any money left in swiss accounts? zardari is too sharp when they were first frozen and than un freezed he removed all the balances and invested somewhere else.. The peak of the drama would be in the end when there would be nothing "khooda pahar nikla chuha " hahha
and regarding the current comment i would say that supreme court is violating the constitution. no court can move against the president there is no ambiguity against it. CJ sir you cant always be right!!!
Govt. has to follow supereme court decision in its true spirit otherwise Mr. Raja has to go home. Why everyone is trying to protect a single person money which can be used for health, education and water projects.
If SC get back, I will lose my trust at this sole trusty institute of Pakistan. Therefore, I request SC not to get back, and go ahead with its constitutional rights. As this can not be rules out that the people of Pakistan and its Army(probably) should back up any decision of the SC.....
We all are with you (SC) to eradicate the cancerous and useless organ (politicians) from the country. my wishes to all my brother and sisters
I like it!! nice answer to Supreme Court.
@Fahim Alavi: Human rights???? He is being asked to write a letter not to launch a Hatf 3.
PM should stand firm . let the people win, Pakistan should have a government of elected people and let no one take over this fundamental right, not army, not highly paid judges PEOPLE STAND BY THE TORCH BEARER OF DEMOCRACY
Let's give a specific power of attorney to CJ to write a letter on behalf of the government backed by parliamentary resolutions. Let his have the ignominy of being a judicial dictator
Why one should be scared of, if there is nothing they Mr President has done against the law.They should let the SC work according to the law and they should follow it, This is what Democracy demands from them.
why they are settling their score of personal vendetta on the expense of poor country . . . ????
sigh.these are the RULERS who claim themselves to be LOYAL to nation . They are just fake ,the oath they took to serve nation is fake . May God show right path to our rulers . Probably they do not have any idea regarding accountability of a Nation's Ruler on Day of Judgement.
why a person to write a letter against some one against his own will ? Is it against human rights or not ?
It was inevitable. Govt is right - it should not act against its sitting president. There is a reason why even the legal fraternity across the border is weighing in and asking our SC to restrain!
Anchors on daily TV channels are insisntent on proving that SC is right in ridding this Govt whereas more serious newspapers (Dawn etc.) have taken a different position. Because our SC seems bent on taking its cues from popular TV media - it bodes really ill for our future.
Supreme court could do no wrong by reviewing its earlier decision and let the democratic process follow through. Gun slinging attitude of SC will lead to chaos only!
It’s high time that Supreme Court should start acting like Supreme Court instead as a Texan Sheriff.
Take that now ! The Constitution is clear under article 248. The SC's judgement on NRO is unconstitutional. Like it or not.
Good! Now, the Supreme Court get its favorite 'Munshijee' (Khalil Ramday) come back on some kind of "special-adhoc-(re)extension" and write this letter personally and let his bossman sign it, also, personally.