Pak SC finally approves Swiss draft letter in Zardari graft cases
11 Oct 2012 6:37 AM IST
After weeks of wrangling, Pakistan Supreme Court approved on Wednesday a third draft of a letter that will ask Swiss authorities to revive graft cases against Asif Ali Zardari, with the government making it clear that any proceedings in that country would be conditional to the immunity available to the president.
Law Minister Farooq Naek submitted the draft letter to a five-judge bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, which approved the document after examining it behind closed doors.
The draft letter – the third presented by the government before the court which had objected to the contents of the previous two – made it clear that any proceedings in Switzerland would be conditional to the immunity provided to the President by the Constitution and Pakistani and international laws.
Referring to a letter written to Swiss authorities in 2007 by the then Attorney General Malik Qayyum for closing the cases against Zardari, the latest draft said that document should be considered as retracted and ‘never written’.
Restoration of legal assistance between the two countries was also referred to in the draft.
However, the apex court turned down Naek’s request to withdraw a contempt notice issued to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, saying a decision in this regard could be taken only after the issue of approaching the Swiss authorities is fully resolved.
On being asked by the bench how long it would take to send the letter to Switzerland, Naek said the draft would have to be translated into French and then sent through the Foreign Ministry.
He sought four weeks to complete the process and the court accepted his request.
The court subsequently adjourned the case till 14 November.
Over the past few weeks, the government and the court have sparred on the issue of framing the formal request for the revival of cases against Zardari over the alleged laundering of some USD 60 million. Reports said the initial drafts only mentioned that the government would inform Swiss authorities that the letter sent in 2007 for closing the cases had been withdrawn.
SUBMIT RESPONSE ON HOLDING DUAL OFFICES, COURT TELLS ZARDARI
A court asked President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday to submit a response by 31 October to its judgement asking him to give up his political office of head of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party.
A four-judge bench of the Lahore High Court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial issued the direction after hearing arguments by the government's lawyer, Waseem Sajjad, who argued that the court had not passed any formal order to bar Zardari from holding the two offices of President and co-chairman of the PPP. Acting on a petition, the court had said in a ruling last year that ‘it expects the President to leave one of the offices’.
Sajjad argued: ‘It was not an order and therefore the question of contempt doesn't arise.’ The High Court is currently hearing a petition that has asked it to charge Zardari with contempt for not acting on last year's ruling.
Sajjad stuck to the argument that the President had not committed contempt as the court had not issued a binding order. After hearing Sajjad's arguments, the bench asked him to get a "response" from the President to the ruling issued last year. 'We want to know the President's view about last year's judgement of this court about his dual office,' the Chief Justice remarked.
Law Minister Farooq Naek submitted the draft letter to a five-judge bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, which approved the document after examining it behind closed doors.
The draft letter – the third presented by the government before the court which had objected to the contents of the previous two – made it clear that any proceedings in Switzerland would be conditional to the immunity provided to the President by the Constitution and Pakistani and international laws.
Referring to a letter written to Swiss authorities in 2007 by the then Attorney General Malik Qayyum for closing the cases against Zardari, the latest draft said that document should be considered as retracted and ‘never written’.
Restoration of legal assistance between the two countries was also referred to in the draft.
However, the apex court turned down Naek’s request to withdraw a contempt notice issued to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf, saying a decision in this regard could be taken only after the issue of approaching the Swiss authorities is fully resolved.
On being asked by the bench how long it would take to send the letter to Switzerland, Naek said the draft would have to be translated into French and then sent through the Foreign Ministry.
He sought four weeks to complete the process and the court accepted his request.
The court subsequently adjourned the case till 14 November.
Over the past few weeks, the government and the court have sparred on the issue of framing the formal request for the revival of cases against Zardari over the alleged laundering of some USD 60 million. Reports said the initial drafts only mentioned that the government would inform Swiss authorities that the letter sent in 2007 for closing the cases had been withdrawn.
SUBMIT RESPONSE ON HOLDING DUAL OFFICES, COURT TELLS ZARDARI
A court asked President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday to submit a response by 31 October to its judgement asking him to give up his political office of head of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party.
A four-judge bench of the Lahore High Court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial issued the direction after hearing arguments by the government's lawyer, Waseem Sajjad, who argued that the court had not passed any formal order to bar Zardari from holding the two offices of President and co-chairman of the PPP. Acting on a petition, the court had said in a ruling last year that ‘it expects the President to leave one of the offices’.
Sajjad argued: ‘It was not an order and therefore the question of contempt doesn't arise.’ The High Court is currently hearing a petition that has asked it to charge Zardari with contempt for not acting on last year's ruling.
Sajjad stuck to the argument that the President had not committed contempt as the court had not issued a binding order. After hearing Sajjad's arguments, the bench asked him to get a "response" from the President to the ruling issued last year. 'We want to know the President's view about last year's judgement of this court about his dual office,' the Chief Justice remarked.
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