PM likely to face same fate as Gilani, says Aitzaz
Until Asif Ali Zardai is the president, he could not be tried in any court of law, says Aitzaz.
HARIPUR/ISLAMABAD:
PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan has predicted that Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf might face the same fate as his predecessor, Yousaf Raza Gilani, when the Supreme Court resumes hearing the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case on Monday (today).
Aitzaz was Gilani’s lawyer in the contempt of court case in which he was convicted and disqualified on June 19 after failing to implement the NRO verdict the court had delivered in December 2009.
While addressing the media in Haripur, the PPP stalwart said that the 10 judges who disqualified Gilani would definitely uphold their previous verdict at every cost.
Similarly, renowned jurist and former law minister Senator SM Zafar told The Express Tribune on Sunday that there was a possibility the court would announce its decision instead of postponing the case any further.
The Supreme Court had issued a show-cause notice under Article 204 of the Constitution to Premier Ashraf over his failure to implement court orders of writing a letter to Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against the president. He was directed to appear personally before the court on August 27 (today).
Procedure of hearing
While explaining the procedure of court hearings, SM Zafar said that the court would first question Prime Minister Ashraf about the implementation of its orders.
On receiving his reply, the court will then frame charges against the prime minister, seeing that the order has not been implemented.
Following that, the premier’s legal representative will present his arguments, Zafar explained.
Although the former law minister did not rule out the possibility of a postponement, he said, “the entire process can end in one day and the court can announce its decision.”
Appearing before the court
Aitzaz appeared to be uncertain whether the prime minister would appear before the Supreme Court today to accept the judgment on writing a letter to Swiss authorities.
“He could personally appear before the apex court, or get represented by Attorney General, or could seek time from the court,” he said. The senator added, however, that he was certain about one thing: until Asif Ali Zardai is the president, he could not be tried in any court of law.
“There is not a single precedent in the world’s history in which a sitting president was tried by a court of law during the last 500 years,” he said.
However, he brushed aside the notion that he was completely opposed to the Swiss letter, saying that the timing was not appropriate under the law.
On the other hand, Zafar said the prime minister, in his opinion, would not skip the proceedings and appear before the court.
“It is a contempt matter and it has become a norm that prime ministers do appear before the court as was done by Gilani and Nawaz Sharif,” he said.
In case the premier does not appear before the court, however, Zafar said the government’s lawyer would provide reasons for his absence, which “the court will take as defiance”.
Pending review petition
When asked whether the pending review petition of the government against the Supreme Court’s order asking the premier to implement the NRO judgment would have any impact on the case, Zafar said “…legally there is no hitch and court can proceed irrespective of the fact that a review petition connected to the matter is pending before it.”
He added that the government may buy time on the pretext of its pending review petition. “The government may ask the court to postpone the hearing till decision of its review petition,” he said.
However, Zafar said there were limited chances of the court giving the government more time, “since the matter is lingering for years and the court had given enough time to the former premier”.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2012.
PPP Senator Aitzaz Ahsan has predicted that Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf might face the same fate as his predecessor, Yousaf Raza Gilani, when the Supreme Court resumes hearing the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case on Monday (today).
Aitzaz was Gilani’s lawyer in the contempt of court case in which he was convicted and disqualified on June 19 after failing to implement the NRO verdict the court had delivered in December 2009.
While addressing the media in Haripur, the PPP stalwart said that the 10 judges who disqualified Gilani would definitely uphold their previous verdict at every cost.
Similarly, renowned jurist and former law minister Senator SM Zafar told The Express Tribune on Sunday that there was a possibility the court would announce its decision instead of postponing the case any further.
The Supreme Court had issued a show-cause notice under Article 204 of the Constitution to Premier Ashraf over his failure to implement court orders of writing a letter to Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against the president. He was directed to appear personally before the court on August 27 (today).
Procedure of hearing
While explaining the procedure of court hearings, SM Zafar said that the court would first question Prime Minister Ashraf about the implementation of its orders.
On receiving his reply, the court will then frame charges against the prime minister, seeing that the order has not been implemented.
Following that, the premier’s legal representative will present his arguments, Zafar explained.
Although the former law minister did not rule out the possibility of a postponement, he said, “the entire process can end in one day and the court can announce its decision.”
Appearing before the court
Aitzaz appeared to be uncertain whether the prime minister would appear before the Supreme Court today to accept the judgment on writing a letter to Swiss authorities.
“He could personally appear before the apex court, or get represented by Attorney General, or could seek time from the court,” he said. The senator added, however, that he was certain about one thing: until Asif Ali Zardai is the president, he could not be tried in any court of law.
“There is not a single precedent in the world’s history in which a sitting president was tried by a court of law during the last 500 years,” he said.
However, he brushed aside the notion that he was completely opposed to the Swiss letter, saying that the timing was not appropriate under the law.
On the other hand, Zafar said the prime minister, in his opinion, would not skip the proceedings and appear before the court.
“It is a contempt matter and it has become a norm that prime ministers do appear before the court as was done by Gilani and Nawaz Sharif,” he said.
In case the premier does not appear before the court, however, Zafar said the government’s lawyer would provide reasons for his absence, which “the court will take as defiance”.
Pending review petition
When asked whether the pending review petition of the government against the Supreme Court’s order asking the premier to implement the NRO judgment would have any impact on the case, Zafar said “…legally there is no hitch and court can proceed irrespective of the fact that a review petition connected to the matter is pending before it.”
He added that the government may buy time on the pretext of its pending review petition. “The government may ask the court to postpone the hearing till decision of its review petition,” he said.
However, Zafar said there were limited chances of the court giving the government more time, “since the matter is lingering for years and the court had given enough time to the former premier”.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 27th, 2012.