Pakistani Prime Minister appears before the Supreme Court

The court adjourned the hearing to Feb. 1. At a dramatic session marked by heated arguments, Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Thursday gave a brief respite to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, who appeared before the justices to defend
himself against possible contempt of court charges. Mr. Gilani is facing contempt charges for failing to pursue corruption charges against President Asif Ali Zardari.

The Supreme Court has been infuriated over the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party’s refusal to write to Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against Mr. Zardari. Since December 2009, when the Supreme Court struck down an amnesty
that nullified corruption charges against thousands of politicians, the court has insisted that the government reopen corruption cases against him.

But the government has resisted the court pressure, maintaining that Mr. Zardari, as president, enjoys immunity in local and international courts. On Monday, the court initiated contempt proceedings against Mr. Gilani and asked
him to appear in court to defend himself.

At Thursday’s hearing, Mr. Gilani’s lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, argued that the issue was not whether the Mr. Zardari enjoyed immunity, but whether Mr. Gilani believed in good faith that the president enjoyed immunity. The justices pressed
him to explain why Mr. Gilani would not write a letter to Swiss authorities.

“As of today I have not the capacity to write the letter,” Mr. Ahsan said on behalf of his client. “I have every intention of implementing the order as and when the Constitution permits me. “No Pakistani authority that upholds
the Constitution can push the president into a foreign fire,” Mr. Ahsan added.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=9798

Posted by Hamza Jahangir on Jan 19 2012. Filed under Pakistan, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry