SC resumes hearing in PM contempt case today

A seven-member special bench of the Supreme Court will today (Wednesday) resume hearing in the contempt of court case against Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. The bench consists of Justice Nasirul Mulk, Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Muhammad Ather Saeed. Prime Minister’s former principal secretary and incumbent cabinet and defence secretary Nargis Sethi will get her statement recorded before the bench as a defence witness. Besides, prime minister’s counsel Aitzaz Ahsen, will submit summaries of May 21 and September 21, 2010 along with the orders passed by his client in response to the court’s orders about reopening of Swiss cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The summaries sent by the Law Ministry contain advice/consultation to the prime minister not to write letter to the Swiss authorities for reopening corruption cases against President Zardari. According to Aitzaz Ahsen, the prime minister was bound to follow the legal opinion of the Law Ministry.Aitzaz said since the prime minister could be convicted by the court, he should be given full opportunity to defend himself. He will submit documentary evidence and also deliver arguments on the contempt charge, keeping aside the defence of any immunity. He has said that he only wanted to prove that his client did not defy court’s orders deliberately. The court has already indicted the prime minister on the contempt of court charges. Earlier on February 28, 2012, the bench had allowed prime minister to produce his former principal secretary Nargis Sethi as his defence witness in the ongoing contempt proceedings against him for not complying with the court’s December 16, 2009 order on the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).