NRO implementation case: Breakthrough
Weeks of reconciliation-laced rhetoric finally manifested its self in the form of what seems to be a big breakthrough in the row between the judiciary and government – a row that had turned into a bruising stalemate for over two years.
Against previous rigidity and all expectations, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Tuesday indicated its willingness to draft a letter to Swiss authorities and implement the apex court’s judgment in the National Reconciliation Order (NRO) implementation case.
In Courtroom 4 of the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf consented to initiate the process to draft a letter that would satisfy the court’s requirements. “After looking into the complexities of the issue, I have instructed the law minister that the letter written by former attorney general Malik Qayyum, which the court had termed unauthorised and illegal in its judgment, would be withdrawn,” Premier Ashraf told a five-judge NRO implementation bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa.
In 2007, the then-attorney general, Malik Qayyum, wrote to the Swiss authorities following the promulgation of the NRO that Pakistan no longer wished to be a party in the graft cases against the Bhutto family and now president Asif Ali Zardari.
What the current government’s letter would say vis-à-vis President Asif Ali Zardari was not elaborated upon, but the apex court reciprocated the gesture, and granted the premier one more week to show tangible progress towards the implementation of the verdict.
The ruling PPP has lost one prime minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani, over its unwillingness to draft the letter to reopen graft cases against President Zardari.
Letter-writing process
According to the arrangements agreed upon, Law Minister Farooq H Naek, authorised by the prime minister to implement the NRO judgment, will initiate a summary in this regard and draft a letter.
However, the court was not getting carried away with the seeming breakthrough, and has asked for a draft of the letter to make sure it satisfies the requirements laid down in its order.
“… the Prime Minister and the Federal Minister for Law and Justice have undertaken that on September 25, 2012, the necessary authorisation shall be produced before this court and a draft communication shall also be made available for this court to examine whether the same meets the requirements of paragraph number 178 of the NRO judgment,” the court stated in its written order.
Naek told the court that he wanted to outline a draft that is acceptable to both – the federation and the court.
The court will examine the draft of letter and also address the federation’s concern regarding presidential immunity. “After those stages are over, a time-frame shall be fixed by the court for the remaining steps,” the written order added.
The letter will be subsequently dispatched to Swiss authorities and other foreign countries and the last step would be the confirmation of this communication.
Long-standing issue
Prime Minister Ashraf said he “contemplated” a lot during the three-week period given to him by the apex court, and that the issue is not about President Zardari as an individual, but his rank. He said he hoped the court will respect the president’s position.
Justice Khosa appreciated the premier’s stance, and laid out the steps required to implement the court’s verdict.
The premier and law minister insisted for more time, but the bench said that it was not good to linger on this case further. “Once you have made up your mind to resolve this long-standing issue, we should not linger anymore,” Justice Khosa said. The court told Naek that, after the authorisation by the premier, he doesn’t need to consult anyone else on the issue.
In a related case, NAB Prosecutor General KK Agha informed the court that NAB has decided not to take any action against Malik Qayyum.
The court sought a copy of NAB’s opinion in this regard, noting down in its order that it has been “intrigued by the fact that letters written by Malik Muhammad Qayyum to the Swiss and other authorities were unauthorised.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2012.
COMMENTS (4)
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An amazing move by the government to agree write the letter to the swiss authorities. As it has been viewed that the case has been time barred then the government should be ready to face another case for causing loss to the national exchequer.
This whole thing has been a diversion by the SC from doing its actual job. The Swiss case has been time barred and we are still continuing this charade and exercise in futility. Let us hope that the PCO judges do not find any other political case and concentrate on their primary job of dealing with the huge backlog of cases that are rotting for decades including murder and constitutional petitions.
an absolute farce as usual......wasted 4 years in this term and 8 under generalassimo's tenure....but that is who we are
Will we get richer after letter is written!