The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) on Wednesday discharged the contempt notice against Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case.
A five-member bench headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali and comprising Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry resumed hearing of the contempt case against Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf for defying the SC orders in NRO implementation case. During Wednesday’s proceedings, Federal Law Minister Farooq Naik appeared before the court and apprised the bench about the letter written to Swiss authorities and the retraction of the NRO letter written in 2006. He presented the sending and receiving receipts of the letter to Swiss authorities and told the court that they had received the letter on November 9. The court then withdrew the contempt proceedings against the PM, upon which the law minister thanked the bench. The Pakistani embassy in Berne, Switzerland, has passed on the letter to Switzerland’s Federal Office of Justice (FOJ). Talking to reporters after the hearing, Naik said the court’s decision was a victory for justice and democracy, adding that the government implemented every directive of the Supreme Court. Moreover, he said the letter was not written forcibly rather in accordance with SC instructions. The law minister later met Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat and apprised him of the Supreme Court’s proceedings in the NRO implementation case. Naik informed the PM that the Supreme Court had dropped charges of contempt against him. Ashraf hailed the decision of the Supreme Court as a “victory of justice”.
He praised the services of the law minister and his team for bringing a successful closure to this long standing issue to the satisfaction of all concerned. Appreciating the professional acumen, competence and deft handling of the case by the minister, the prime minister observed that closure of the NRO implementation case had silenced those who propagated a clash of institutions. He said the successful closure of the NRO implementation case would remove the air of uncertainty and help create conducive atmosphere during the political transition, adding that it would facilitate a smooth transfer of power by conducting free and impartial elections in the country.
He said the government had fulfilled its commitment to abide by the decisions of the court in letter and spirit.
Ashraf expressed the confidence that all institutions would work harmoniously to ensure continuity of the system and strengthening of democracy.