ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court (SC) declined the government’s request to replace its counsel in the review petition against the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) verdict on Monday and ordered him to take instructions from the government and appear in court today (Tuesday).
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was heading the 17-member full court hearing of the government’s review petition against the NRO verdict, stated that the court could dismiss the review petition if Kamal Azfar, the government’s lead counsel who earlier represented it in the main petitions against the NRO, failed to continue.
Appearing on notice, Azfar submitted a statement in court saying that the government had previously appointed Dr Khalid Ranjha in place of Sardar Latif Khosa – currently the Punjab governor – to assist the full court in the review petition. He requested the court to give an opportunity to the government to appoint a substitute for Governor Khosa. “I have already told the Law Ministry that I will not represent the federation in the review plea and have welcomed the appointment of Dr Ranjha as counsel for the federation in place of Latif Khosa,” Azfar stated.
The court however noted that in view of Azfar’s letter dated October 30, 2010, he continued to be the counsel for the government, thus his attendance could not be ignored. The court asked Azfar to take instructions from the government and inform it of his decision after the interval. Azfar submitted that he had asked the Law Ministry for instructions and was waiting for a reply, thus he should be given more time. The court postponed the case till Tuesday (today) but warned Azfar that no one would be “allowed to argue the review plea” on his behalf.
The court ruled that according to SC rules, the counsel who had earlier appeared in the main case should ensure his appearance in the review plea as well. Azfar had represented the government in the pleas against the NRO, but later when he was appointed adviser to the prime minister, the government had appointed Khosa to replace him. Separately, Wasim Sajjad, counsel for former attorney general Malik Qayyum, told the court that his client was ill and could not appear in court. “… He is an advocate and appeared in this case, so he should be here to explain his position,” the chief justice said.
Sajjad said it was the fundamental right of his client to have a counsel to plead his case as he was not in a position to come to court in person. “Have patience and don’t get emotional. If he comes, we will help him,” the chief justice said. Sajjad requested the court to give at least two weeks time to his client’s case, which the court granted but said that the hearing in the main petition for the implementation of the NRO verdict would continue. Former NAB chairman Naveed Ahsan was also told to appear personally in court. Ranjha also appeared on behalf of NAB Prosecutor General Danishwar Malik, saying that his client had undergone heart surgery recently and could not make it to court.
