Govt will change lawyer irrespective of SC order: Awan

LAHORE:
Law Minister Babar Awan has said the government would change its lawyer in the NRO implementation case whether the Supreme Court allows it or not.
“We have a right to change our lawyer and we will do so; we will never infringe constitutional limits,” Babar told reporters on Monday outside the Punjab Assembly after attending the parliamentary party meeting of the Pakistan People’s Party. He was accompanied by PPP Punjab senior minister Raja Riaz.
He said the government would implement all Supreme Court orders given under the constitution, including the court’s verdict on the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).
Babar said, “It is beyond understanding why the SC is giving priority to three or four cases, when at least 2.1 million legal cases are pending.”
He said he knew that “a provincial government and several judges are running their affairs under the protection of stay orders”.
The law minister said cases regarding tax defaults of Rs 19 billion should also be taken up.
Commenting over the rejection of government’s appeal by the SC, he said the court had a right to reject any appeal, but the government had a right to hire any lawyer of its choice under Article 10 of the constitution.
Babar said Adviser to the PM Kamal Azfar would continue with his new position.
He said the country’s democratic process should continue and accountability would not be allowed to turn into revenge.
The minister said it was disgusting that every step of the federal government was challenged by the PML-N.
“Consultation means to discuss, not take orders, we never objected to any appointment made by the PML-N,” the minister added. Citing Nawaz Sharif’s remarks about Justice (r) Deedar Hussain, Babar said Nawaz had once called Hussain a “saviour”, adding that “such double standards were intolerable at any cost”.
Babar said the opposition only gave suggestions to the government, which appointed the NAB chairman with the consent of the opposition.
They law minister opined that the present attitude of the PML-N would tarnish the peaceful atmosphere and ultimately endanger the implementation of the Charter of Democracy (COD).
Earlier, while addressing PPP legislators in the Punjab Assembly, the law minister said conspiracies were being hatched not only from the inside, but the outside as well.
Babar said the PPP did not want confrontation, but would never retreat from its due rights.
He said that all elections except that for the president of Pakistan could be challenged under the constitution.
Speaking on the occasion, Raja Riaz appealed to Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif to avoid launching a long march.
He said any such move would be considered a conspiracy against democracy, as politics of confrontation would damage democracy and the nation. The PPP leader said his party believed in politics of reconciliation.
He said the parliamentary party meeting had requested the federal government to give grant and special package to the PPP Punjab and the law minister had agreed with the proposal and promised to plead the case.
The senior minister said that parliamentary would defend the government and party co-chairman President Asif Ali zardari at all forums.