Hearing the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case, a seven-member special bench of the Supreme Court decided on Thursday to announce its ruling on April 16 on the non-implementation of its orders by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani regarding writing a letter without getting any advice to Swiss authorities for reopening graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
The bench 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, observed that non-implementation of December 16, 2009 judgment on NRO by the prime minister was a sheer contempt of court. The court observed that each and every judgment passed by it should be implemented in letter and spirit. Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan noted that when the court had ordered the prime minister to write a letter to the Swiss authorities without getting advice from any one, it was a final order.
He said if prime minister did not implement this order, another contempt of court proceedings could be initiated against him.
Appearing on notice, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq said he had been instructed by the government to request the court to defer hearing on its orders to the prime minister to write the letter without getting any advice, as contempt proceedings against the prime minister for not writing letter were already in progress, in which it was being examined whether the matter of writing letter was implement-able or not.
Justice Nasirul Mulk noted that the order for wring letter without getting any advice was a separate issue. He said continuation of contempt proceedings did not mean that the prime minister was not accountable for implementation of the NRO verdict as well as writing of letter to the Swiss authorities.
“Now, the prime minister and the law secretary would have to interpret the court orders,” Justice Gulzar Ahmed remarked.
The court noted that the second order given to the prime minister, during the contempt proceedings, for writing letter was also not implemented, thus an appropriate decision would be given on it on April 16.
Earlier, on March 19, while disobeying the Supreme Court orders, the prime minister had refused to write letter to the Swiss authorities and had suggested that, being a matter of grave public concern, the issue should be sent to parliament.
On March 18, the court had ordered the prime minister to write a letter, without getting any advice and influence of the ongoing contempt proceedings against him, to the Swiss authorities for reopening graft cases against President Zardari and submit compliance report along with his (Gilani) written statement on March 19 or personally appear on March 21 to get his statement recorded over the matter.
However, on March 21, Aitzaz Ahsan, the counsel for the premier, objected on the seven-member special bench hearing the matter and sought its recusal. Now the court is scheduled to hear the case on April 12.
SC to decide Gilani’s fate on April 16
