PM Gilani to not seek Presidential pardon if convicted; says Aitzaz

Aitzaz Ahsan, the counsel of the Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, believes that all those will be disappointed who are speculating that a Supreme Court ruling against the premier will see him be sacrificed.

He categorically elucidated that Gilani would not seek presidential pardon if he is convicted by the apex court in the contempt case.

While interviewing a private TV channel, the renowned legal expert, who had also served as counsel to resumed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, has been unobjectionably elected Senator for the next six years.

He observed, “Prime Minister will not advise the President to give him a pardon if convicted”. Explaining the entire process of the premier’s relinquishment, he said that it would take months to elect a new prime minister if the existing forced to quit.

He maintained, “Once the verdict comes, the case will be put before the speaker of the national assembly, where the speaker will have 30 days from the time the resolution is moved to decide whether Gilani can be disqualified due to the verdict”.

The matter has to be deliberated before the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) if the Speaker National Assembly (NA) declares the Prime Minister as disqualified. The ECP has to decide the matter within 90 days whether this verdict disqualifies the premier as an MNA or not.

Aitzaz further stated that this would not be the end of the road, as Gilani could challenge the Election Commission’s decision in the high court. The lawyer with smiling face asserted, “I am hopeful that I can still persuade the Judges that the Prime Minister is not in contempt”.

When he was asked, why has letter not been written to Swiss authorities, given it had drawn the ire of the Supreme Court, the counsel answered that PM Gilani was counseled that writing letter would not resolve the matter.

In his view the cases in Switzerland were closed on merit, adding that writing letter would not solve the problem.

He observed, “To get money out of Swiss accounts, the government would need to file a civil suit in Switzerland. However, the time bar for filing this case has passed”. He reiterated, even if the government wanted, it cannot get the money in Swiss accounts back.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Feb 17 2012. Filed under Latest News, 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.