The government on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to withdraw orders for reopening corruption cases against the president in a legal wrangle that has already cost one prime minister his job. Earlier this month the apex court leveled a veiled threat to remove new Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf from office as well unless he agreed to pursue multimillion dollar graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The judiciary has been trying for years to force the administration to write to the Swiss authorities to reopen investigations into corruption allegations dating back to the 1990s. Ashraf’s predecessor, Yousaf Raza Gilani, was thrown out of office on June 19 after the Supreme Court found him guilty of contempt because he refused to write to the Swiss, saying Zardari had immunity from prosecution as head of state. Judge Asif Saeed Khosa had ordered Ashraf to submit a report on July 25 “regarding compliance… failing which this court may initiate any appropriate action under the constitution and the law” — hinting that he too could be disqualified. But government lawyers struck a defiant posture on Tuesday, saying the administration could not carry out the court orders. “The prime minister cannot be asked by means of the aforesaid orders for implementation of an un-implementable direction given by the Supreme Court,” the government said in a written submission. It said the court orders ran contrary to the constitution, which granted immunity to Zardari against trial in any court while he was president. Attorney General Irfan Qadir, for the government, urged the court to recall the orders “to meet the end of justice”.
The judiciary has appeared unwilling to end a showdown with the coalition government which could force elections before February 2013 when it would become the first in Pakistan’s history to complete an elected, full five-year mandate.
Judges have said that Ashraf was “bound to implement the relevant directions of this court”, just like Gilani.
The allegations against Zardari date back to the 1990s, when he and his late wife, former premier Benazir Bhutto, are suspected of using Swiss bank accounts to launder $12 million allegedly paid in bribes by companies seeking customs inspection contracts.
In 2009 the court overturned a political amnesty that froze investigations into the president and other politicians, ordering that the cases be reopened.
However, the Supreme Court Registrar’s Office on Tuesday returned the federation’s reply submitted by the attorney general in the NRO case after objecting to the requests made in the reply. The court said that instead of submitting a reply, a plea needed to be filed to review the court’s orders. The federal government submitted in its reply in the NRO case that the cabinet was yet to make a decision to write the letter to Swiss authorities. The reply further stated that the prime minister was constitutionally bound to the advice of the cabinet; therefore the court should review its ruling of July 12. The attorney general said the option of contempt of court against the new prime minister was now over. The reply said that under Article 90 of the constitution, the advice of the federal cabinet was binding on the prime minister and the cabinet had not yet made a decision to write to the Swiss officials.
The reply further said that the seven-member bench on January 3, 2012 had no authority to amend the ruling of the seventeen-member bench and now option number two relating to the contempt of court was not applicable to the new prime minister, therefore, the court should review its July 12 verdict. The Supreme Court, however, declared inadmissible the government’s reply and returned its with objections. The court will resume hearing in the NRO implementation case today (Wednesday).
PRESIDENT CALLS MEETING: Following the development, President Asif Ali Zardari formally summoned a high-level meeting of top leaders of the party for today (Wednesday).
The meeting will be attended by Prime Minister Ashraf and senior members of the party, and will review overall political scenario, contempt of court case, Pak-US relations and tensions, while some key decisions are likely to be made as well.