SC finds Gilani in contempt

The Supreme Court issued a contempt of court notice to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday for failing to implement the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) verdict and directed him to personally appear in court on January 19 and explain why contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against him for not obeying court orders.
A seven-member special bench headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk issued the contempt notice after Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq told it that he had not received any instructions from the government so far about implementation of the NRO verdict. The bench was formed to decide six options suggested earlier by a five-member bench on January 10 that the court could take in the case. At the outset of the hearing, the court was told that the attorney general was not present as he was appearing before the judicial commission probing the memo case at the Islamabad High Court. The court then adjourned the proceedings for some time and summoned the attorney general. When the attorney general finally arrived, he told the court that he had conveyed the January 10 order containing six options to the president, prime minister and all other authorities concerned.
To a court query, he said he was not given any instructions from the government in the matter. The court then gave him some time to seek the government’s instructions, however, he failed to get any instructions during that time. Justice Nasirul Mulk then observed that when one does not turn up, it is considered that one has nothing to say. When the court enquired about writing of a letter to Swiss authorities to reopen money laundering cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, the attorney general said he had not received any instructions from the government to this effect either. He said option six of the court’s order was very clear. The court then asked him to give arguments on the six options and noted that if anyone wanted to defend themselves, they should appear in court.
The attorney general told the court that he wanted to give arguments on implementation of the NRO verdict. He said the NRO verdict could be enforced through the high courts, thus it should be referred to the high courts. However, to a court query, he said under Article 187 of the constitution, issuance of any order was the discretion of the apex court. Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan noted that the time had not come to enforce the NRO verdict through the high courts. During the hearing, Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa noted that the office of the prime minister was very respectable. He said the impression that the court had given six options to the government was wrong, as he said these options were for the court’s own consideration. He also pointed out that it was wrong to suggest that the court declared the prime minister dishonest. He said the court had written in its order that the failure or refusal of the prime minister to completely obey and execute the directions issued in the NRO case reflected that, at least prima facie, he may not be an “honest” person on account of his not being honest to the oath of his office. Meanwhile, the court issued a show-cause notice to the prime minister to argue why contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against him under the contempt law and personally summoned him on January 19. The court noted that the contempt notice should be considered and read in the backdrop of the January 10 order containing the six options.
Legal experts say the prime minister can lose his parliamentary seat if he is found in contempt of court. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Information Secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira told AFP that Gilani would appear in court. “God willing, he will,” said Kaira.