Only parliament can decide Zardari’s fate

Defending President Asif Ali Zardari once again, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has said the issue of the president’s immunity could only be decided by parliament and should be referred to it. Talking to representatives of the print media at State Guest House on Sunday, Gilani said the parliament restored the judges and the president enjoyed trans-national immunity. “If I had been the chief justice of Pakistan, I would have asked the parliament to decide the issue, as it is the privilege of the parliament alone to rewrite the constitution,” he said. While pushing for the supremacy of parliament, the prime minister repeated the words of ‘alone’ thrice.
“The parliament is the real authority over the issue and I will do everything per the constitution,” said Gilani in response to a question regarding presidential immunity and the SC verdict to write to Swiss authorities for reopening cases against the president. “The same parliament of 442 members unanimously passed the 18th, 19th and 20th Amendments but none of the members raised objection to the issue of presidential immunity,” he said. “The issue should be referred to parliament if I can’t waive off the immunity,” he said, adding that per international law, the president, prime minister and foreign minister enjoyed immunity. He said the Mehran Bank scandal should have been taken up much earlier as its movers had grown very old now.
To a question on the memo scandal, the PM said, “I have said several times that the memo is a non-issue and has no importance.” He said the PPP government had cordial relations with the armed forces, adding that the decision of the ISI DG’s appointment had been made on merit. To a question on the Balochistan issue, the PM said the PPP was genuinely striving for the betterment of the people and other matters related to the province. “I would consult the stakeholders for holding an APC, jirga or following any other option,” he added. To another question regarding defeat of PPP candidate Aslam Gill in the Senate elections, he said the enquiry of the matter was underway.
“We have always discouraged horse trading,” he said, adding that before the Senate elections, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif met him and evolved a consensus that respect of all political parties in the House would be upheld to avert chances of horse trading. “I don’t know what happened afterwards,” he said. To a question on early elections, the PM said that previously, his theory was to achieve “high targets”, but now it was to achieve the “nearest target”, which was the budget.However, “we would consult coalition partners in parliament regarding early elections and decide on the matter”, he added.
Gilani said a lot was stated about Senate polls, but our government made them happen, and it would also come up with the fifth budget. To a question on the South Punjab province issue, he said the PPP wasn’t allowed to table a resolution in the Punjab Assembly in support of this demand, but it was also working on other options.