Writing Swiss letter: SC grants four-day reprieve to PM Ashraf
Court accepts first two paragraphs of draft, directs law minister to revise last paragraph.
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court of Pakistan granted a four-day reprieve to Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf for revising the draft of a letter to be written to the Swiss authorities as per the court’s instructions, Express News reported on Friday.
The revised draft, submitted by Law Minister Farooq H Naek in today’s hearing of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case, was reviewed by the five-member bench in the judges’ chambers.
According to Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, the first two paragraphs of the draft were as per the court’s directives but the judges had some reservations over the last paragraph.
Law Minister Naek, agreeing with the court, requested 15 minutes to discuss with the judges their reservations, which was approved by the bench.
When the case resumed, Naek requested the court to give till October 10 for revising the draft, which was approved by the court.
Earlier, the court had set today as the deadline for the Swiss letter but agreed to give more time to since there had been progress in the writing of the letter.
Naek, speaking to the media after the hearing, said that the case was related to democracy and the incumbent government had made sacrifices to bring the same into action.
“Our President Asif Ali Zardari stayed away from his children, his wife,” said Naek adding that he was not convicted in even one case.
“Who will bring back those 12 years when he couldn’t meet his children?” asked the law minister.
Naek has already presented two drafts, both of which were rejected by the judges because they did not comply with court orders.
Last month, a breakthrough on the long-standing issue was seemingly achieved when the government agreed to write the letter to Swiss authorities regarding graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
The Supreme Court has twice rejected the drafts as unsatisfactory, and had given Naek till October 5 (today) to get the draft right – or risk the restarting of proceedings against the prime minister.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan granted a four-day reprieve to Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf for revising the draft of a letter to be written to the Swiss authorities as per the court’s instructions, Express News reported on Friday.
The revised draft, submitted by Law Minister Farooq H Naek in today’s hearing of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case, was reviewed by the five-member bench in the judges’ chambers.
According to Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, the first two paragraphs of the draft were as per the court’s directives but the judges had some reservations over the last paragraph.
Law Minister Naek, agreeing with the court, requested 15 minutes to discuss with the judges their reservations, which was approved by the bench.
When the case resumed, Naek requested the court to give till October 10 for revising the draft, which was approved by the court.
Earlier, the court had set today as the deadline for the Swiss letter but agreed to give more time to since there had been progress in the writing of the letter.
Naek, speaking to the media after the hearing, said that the case was related to democracy and the incumbent government had made sacrifices to bring the same into action.
“Our President Asif Ali Zardari stayed away from his children, his wife,” said Naek adding that he was not convicted in even one case.
“Who will bring back those 12 years when he couldn’t meet his children?” asked the law minister.
Naek has already presented two drafts, both of which were rejected by the judges because they did not comply with court orders.
Last month, a breakthrough on the long-standing issue was seemingly achieved when the government agreed to write the letter to Swiss authorities regarding graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
The Supreme Court has twice rejected the drafts as unsatisfactory, and had given Naek till October 5 (today) to get the draft right – or risk the restarting of proceedings against the prime minister.