Aitzaz questions scope of SC verdict

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, the counsel for Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, on Thursday said the scope of the Supreme Court’s judgment against the PM was “beyond the scope of charge sheet”, adding that the charge sheet did not include the charge of scandalizing the court.
He expressed these views while addressing a joint press conference at the PM’s Secretariat along with Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira and others. Aitzaz told reporters that the federal cabinet, allies and the prime minister had directed him to file an appeal against the court verdict.
He said a copy of the short order had yet not been provided to the convict, which had surprised him. He deplored the fact that the judgment was against normal practice, as in criminal cases, detailed judgments were delivered. He also criticized a section of the media that he said had “short-circuited” court proceedings. He said he felt sorry for the verdict, but said it was an important day in the country’s political history. Aitzaz said the judgement was in two parts – one part was that the prime minister flouted the para 178 of the court verdict in NRO case while the other part was related to the alleged scandalizing of the judiciary.
He said when charges were framed against the PM on February 2, 2012, there was no mention of scandalizing the judiciary and otherwise, he would have contested these charges and would have submitted evidence against the charge.
“If it is proved that any member of parliament scandalized or defamed the judiciary, he/she might be disqualified. However, since this was not a charge against the premier, no question arises of his disqualification,” he asserted. He said the PM was charged under one offence while he was convicted under two charges, which was surprising for him.
“For the past three months, we have been contesting charges of civil offence while my client has been convicted under criminal offence for which he was not convicted,” he maintained. He also confronted the notion that the prime minister had been automatically disqualified after conviction and said that the speaker or chairman senate would have to examine whether or not if any MP had been disqualified. “Since there is no charge mentioned in the charge sheet against the prime minister, the speaker would have to be convinced by legal experts whether or not a reference could be sent against the premier. Speaker might seek guidance from amicus curies as this is the verdict of the highest court of the country and therefore it should be taken seriously,” he added. Aitzaz said he also wanted to raise these points with the seven-member bench and when the court was rising, he sought permission to speak but he was not heard.
He said in his view, there was no question of disqualification for the prime minister. He said an appeal against the court judgement was continuation of original trial and therefore the operation on the court judgement would be suspended with the filing of the appeal. Aitzaz expressed gratitude to the court for awarding minimum punishment to the prime minister and said even if the premier was handed down imprisonment for six months, he would have accepted the court verdict humbly. “The prime minister was ready to go to Adiyala Jail and had even brought necessary luggage along with him,” he asserted. Citing precedence from political history, Aitzaz said that former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had been convicted by the apex court in year 2000 in the plane hijacking case but the decision was overturned in year 2009 as the court accepted an appeal against its previous judgement after nine years.
Minister for Information & Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira rejected the notion that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani should resign on moral grounds after the apex court verdict and said that the premier was not facing moral charges and rather a legal battle was going on.