Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Thursday opened a new debate for legal and constitutional experts by saying that he enjoyed “absolute immunity” under Article 248(1) for performing his official duties, and could not be disqualified because he had “not been charged under a criminal offence”.
Talking to a group of journalists at the PM’s House, Gilani advised the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to observe restraint and wait for the detailed judgment of the seven-member bench of the Supreme Court in the contempt of court case. “There are people who are interpreting Article 248 of the constitution differently. Article 248 has never been interpreted in the past 64 years … I respect the courts and appeared before the apex court thrice … but I don’t respect the ‘Sharif courts’, as the PML-N leaders are issuing parallel judgments,” he said. Asked whether he felt ashamed of being convicted by a court of law, Gilani reacted emotionally to the query and said that he was not embarrassed. “Why should I feel embarrassed? I am not convicted under corruption charges. I was also not facing charges under moral turpitude.” The prime minister avoided a tough question when asked whether the government would allow the induction of ad hoc judges because three judges of the apex court had refused to sit on the bench to be formed to hear his appeal against his conviction. “The law ministry would deal with the matter,” he said.
He said that since the leader of the opposition had refused to cooperate in the appointment of a new chief election commissioner, he would forward the names he had suggested to the relevant forum, which would take a decision. The premier also distanced himself from the statement of Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar about the support by the Pakistani government and military in the assassination of former al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, saying he had not seen the statement. “The matter is sub judice before the Abbottabad commission,” he said.
When asked to comment on the claim that al Qaeda had been abolished from Pakistan, Gilani disagreed, and said that al Qaeda was not the name of an individual. “May be there are remnants of al Qaeda’s network,” he said. Referring to the information sharing between the CIA and the ISI, the prime minister said that all high value targets of al Qaeda had been eliminated with the help of mutual cooperation. “If actionable information is provided, we will take action,” he said. When asked why NATO supplies were not being restored despite the parliament’s unanimous recommendations on redefining ties with the US, Gilani said the United States had been conveyed the parliament’s recommendations, and that several groups from the two countries were discussing the new terms of engagements. He said that any decision on restoring NATO supplies would be made after the talks were finalised. He said the entire nation was in grief after the Salala episode, and the decision to block NATO supply routes was in that specific context.
Asked if he was hopeful of the reopening of NATO supplies, Gilani responded in the affirmative, and said that the talks were heading towards a positive direction, and the government would make the final decision on restoring NATO supplies after the talks were finalised. Responding to a query that the parliamentary committee’s recommendations had disallowed the presence of foreign militants operating on Pakistani soil and whether Pakistan would take action against the Haqqani network, Gilani said that the government respected the will of the parliament and hoped that the US would also respect the recommendations passed by the parliament, which enjoyed the mandate of the people of Pakistan.
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