SC approves Swiss letter draft

By Hadi Aziz Oct 10th, 2012 ( 1 Comment )

Islamabad: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Wednesday approved a draft letter — presented by the government in the apex court — to be sent to Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Farooq H Naek, the federal law minister, presented the new letter in the SC before the five-judge bench, comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Athar Saeed, hearing the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case.

During today’s hearing, the bench approved the draft of the letter after a review and express satisfaction over the the letter.

The bench also rejected Naek’s plea to discharge the contempt notice against Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf saying the notice would be discharged when the Swiss officials receive the letter.

Naek told the court that the letter would take up to four weeks time to be dispatched through foreign office.

Later, the bench adjourned the hearing of the case till November 14.

Earlier on October 5, Justice Khosa raised objection over the third paragraph added in the draft letter and remarked that they were just few steps away from the final letter.

Pakistan’s prime minister had told the Supreme Court that the government would comply with a longstanding demand to reopen an old corruption case against the president, defusing a conflict that has roiled the country’s political system and led to the ouster of the last premier.

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Hameed

Finally the Swiss letter
has been approved by the court. The matter is amicable resolved. The legal
fraternity has by and large welcomed the resolution of the dragged out affair.
One can almost hear an audible sigh of national relief. Aitzaz Ahsan’s view is
that the court finally accepted the president’s immunity and that the letter
would not lead to the reopening of cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
That is precisely what we have been arguing in this space for as long as one
can remember. Nevertheless, relief that the court’s, government’s, and the
country’s inordinate time, effort and focus wasted on this non-issue may
finally be coming to an end is universal. For a country on the verge of
economic meltdown, assailed by terrorism and a deteriorating law and order
situation, the misplaced priorities of the judicial system are glaring. Some
may be inclined to say all’s well that ends well.