After SC's objections, Naek re-drafts letter for Swiss authorities
The new draft will be submitted to the court on September 26.
Naek had earlier submitted the draft to the apex court along with an authority letter on behalf of Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.
Followed by the submission, a five-member judicial bench of the Supreme Court reviewed the draft.
The law minister was called inside the court chamber for consultation.
Naek requested the court to adjourn the hearing till tomorrow, which was accepted by the court.
The objections raised by the judicial bench were not disclosed as the case was heard in chambers, not in an open court.
Naek was briefed about the objections and was given a brief respite to sort them out.
Justice Asif Saeed Khosa directed the law minister to mention the reference of Qayum’s letter which requested the shelving of graft cases
The bench also told Naek that the letter will be sent off to the attorney general of Geneva.
The process consists of four steps:
Step 1: An authorisation letter will be issued to the law minister tasking him to write the letter.
Step 2: The draft of the letter will be cleared by the Supreme Court after a review.
Step 3: The mode of sending the letter will be decided – either by a special messenger or by courier.
Step 4: A receipt will be submitted to the Supreme Court confirming that the letter has been sent to the Swiss authorities in Geneva.
The draft seeks the withdrawal of letters written back in May 22, 2008 – by the then attorney general Malik Qayum – who had communicated to Swiss authorities that Pakistan was no longer interested in pursuing graft charges against President Asif Ali Zardari and his late wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
On the last date of hearing, Ashraf assured the court that the government was now ready to write a letter to Swiss authorities as directed by the court.
He told the court that he would authorise Naek to implement court orders in this regard.After his assurances, the court exempted the premier from personal appearance and asked him to authorise the law minister in writing.
The letter saga began when the Supreme Court struck down the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), under which a number of cases against political figures were dropped – including the Swiss cases against President Zardari and his family.
Once the NRO was scrapped, the government was ordered by the court to retract the Qayyum letter written to Swiss authorities – something the government seemed adamant not to do, until it surprisingly relented last week.
COMMENTS (19)
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@ Anjum: Granted that the judiciary hasn't always done the right thing in the past, But, this particular act isn't pitiful nor it is unjustified.
No problems ... A fake receipt will be produced, just like fake degrees. If sent by a special messenger, stuff can happen to the messenger, like his suitcase may have exploding mangoes or a sun roof lever can hit him in the head, or the room in which he stays can have a vacuum bulb explosion.
@Anjum: Thanks for telling like it is. The PCO CJ is the worst reincarnation of Gen Zia. Both had an extreme rightwing agenda and dictatorial designs at the cost of democracy and country. Regards, Mirza
Pity the nation that has judges which imprisoned Faiz Ahmed Faiz on fabricated conspiracy charges, declared Mujeeb ur Rehman traitor, hanged Z A Bhutto, disqualified number of parliamentarians; and at the same time gave sanctity to the uniformed presidents all they needed, and acquit sectarian killers. The judiciary was supportive of the military’s expanded role in the past. It endorsed the direct assumption of power by the military on all four occasions. Since the restoration of the present Chief Justice and other judges in 2009, the Supreme Court and the High Courts have engaged in a high pace judicial activism and have built pressure on the elected parliament and the elected federal government. The comments of the judges, as published in the media, have political implications in the politically divided political context. The Chief Justice has argued more than once that the parliament is not the supreme institutions and that the Supreme Court has an overriding power with reference to constitution.
Finally all the problems of the country would be solved. Thank you SC for taking care of all the pending cases and doing what you were supposed to do. Decide all the cases of importance to the people of Pakistan. Perhaps the PCO SC would have some time now to deal with the real non political cases.
@syed imran: "It will again be long drawn battle between judiciary and PPP, and i think PPP will complete its tenure"
Looks like a newsflash for us!!!
We think you were reading too much of the likes of Ansar Abbassi and are now gradually learning the facts. Put this through your head: there will be no unconstitutional way of ousting the government, no matter what kind of spin the PCO CJ+Pasha had tried and might try to give, it had/would simply not work this time.
The final order of the case will be delivder in grave to the concernded people .
JUDICIARY !! A joke in Pakistan .
Swiss must be laughing their heads off at this topi drama!
This is all show biz, nothing is going to happen, its just another game of Judiciary and Government, to pass the time till the election. So many cases have been opened !!! no a single case has been brought to conclusion.... playing with people's mind
Technical and legal glitches will almost certainly prevent any recovery in our life time. Please count the cost of this "ego satisfaction" saga. Will SC carry on with its actual business now and work on the backlog?
:o PPP Government complying with SC orders?????.....There is something fishy......Isn't it?
What would happen to other 8000 + cases which were scrapped. Would SC do anything about those.
Hahah, best is to send The Supreme Court Registrar, Dr. Faqir Hussain to personally deliver the letter. Afterall, he also has immunity