Prime minister gets one more day to submit reply to Supreme Court

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The Supreme Court gave one more day to the attorney general on Thursday to submit the written response of the prime minister on the restoration of the establishment secretary, who was appointed officer on special duty (OSD) on July 26 after he unilaterally ordered the transfer of former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director Hussain Asghar – currently serving as the Gilgit-Baltistan inspector general – back to the agency and reassigned him the task of investigating the Haj scam.
A six-member Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed that if it did not receive the prime minister’s response on the matter, it would pass an order to this effect. Appearing on notice, Attorney General Moulvi Anwarul Haq stated that in response to the court orders, he had met Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and explained to him the contents of the court’s July 27 order about the establishment secretary’s appointment as OSD as well as the constitutional and other legal provisions.
He said the prime minister had told him that he would hold another meeting with him for his response. He requested the court to grant time up to Monday to get Gilani’s response, but the court pointed out to him that it was not possible to constitute a larger bench continuously for weeks because the judges had to attend the court sessions at branch registries to take up the cases of the general public. Therefore, the court ordered him to get the response and present it today (Friday).
Appearing on notice, FIA Director General Tehseen Anwar submitted a report stating that Asghar, who had been notified as FIA director by the Establishment Division in compliance with court orders, had so far not reported to FIA Headquarters in Islamabad. He stated further that despite repeated attempts, he had failed to establish contact with Asghar.
However, he assured the court that as soon as Asghar reported to the FIA Headquarters, investigation of the Haj scam would be handed over to him and the investigation team previously working with him would also be reinstated. He also assured the court that Asghar would be fully facilitated in his investigation.
LEFT FOR ISLAMABAD: The attorney general stated that Asghar’s office in Gilgit had told him that he had already left for Islamabad by road on July 26, and his cell phone was not responding. He said he had contacted the DIG Headquarters of Gilgit-Baltistan, which informed him that Asghar had left Skardu for Islamabad, but he had not reached Islamabad yet.
The court said that it was “amazing” that an officer of the rank of inspector general, despite receiving information about his posting, had failed to reach Islamabad. To a court query, the FIA director general stated that he was ready to implement the court’s orders and there was no pressure upon him from any quarters to deviate from them.
During the hearing, the chief justice stated that the constitution authorised the apex court to set aside illegal appointments. He asked the attorney general to tell the competent authority that the court was very conscious about its limits.

1 COMMENT

  1. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.TOO MUCH KLENEIENCY WHICH HAS COST THE NATION MOST HEAVILY.IT IS ZARDARI,THE PRESIDENT WHO IS CALLING THE SHOTS,ABETTED BY PRIME MINISTER AND NOW JOINED BY CHOUDRIES OF ML-Q WHO FOR THE MOMENT REPLACE MQM,THE MUNAFAKS,QATILS,MOKAPRAASTS,TO SAVE THEIR ILL GOTTEN CORRUPTION MONEY AND SAVE THEMSELVES FROM HIGHEST COURT CASES.MOST ESTEEMED SCP-CJP NO MORE LENIENCY , DISQUALIFY PPPZ,PRESIDENT,PRIime minister and government.

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