Wise decision brings sigh of relief for Prime Minister: Aitzaz gains more time for preparation

Counsel of the Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan has said today is the historic day in Pakistan that an elected premier appeared before the apex court.

Aitzaz observed, “Respect of courts is our prime responsibility. However, President Asif Ali Zardari enjoys blanket immunity in this case.”

In what appeared to be a wise decision, Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani on the other day appointed Aitzaz Ahsan as his counsel in the contempt of court notice that he was served on January 15 for not implementing court’s rulings in the infamous NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) cases.

The counsel stated that the prime minister was advised by the Law Ministry to not write a letter against the president. “I had been publicly saying that writing the letter would not make any difference,” he added.

Ahsan continued that he would establish from record that the prime minister acted bona fide in not writing a letter to the Swiss authorities. In his view the premier had not committed contempt of court by not writing the letter against the president.

He asserted that he would try to convince the court through his arguments that the prime minister is not guilty of contempt. “There is no harm in writing a letter to the Swiss authorities,” he added.

Ahsan went on to say that his case was about the contempt and he didn’t raise the immunity issue before the bench. Quoting the media, the counsel observed that the media created an impression that the apex court had already made up its mind against the premier.

In an exchange with the judges, the prime minister’s counsel, stated the government could not write a letter to Swiss authorities to re-open the corruption cases. “The letter shall be written when Asif Ali Zardari is no longer the president.”

In counter argue, the judge said “so you’re saying you won’t write it?” He responded: “I don’t have the capacity to write the letter” because the president has immunity.

All in all, the wise decision of the Prime Minister reduced the intensity of confrontation between judiciary and government. The court gives 15 days time to Aitzaz Ahsan to prepare for the case, exempting the premier to appear before the court.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jan 19 2012. Filed under National, Pakistan, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.