Gilani never denied following court’s rulings; says Aitzaz Ahsan

Aitzaz Ahsan, the counsel for Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani in the contempt of court case on Wednesday reiterated that his client never denied following the court rulings.

The solicitor, however, said court’s orders could not be implemented until Zardari holds the office of president. A seven-judge bench headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk resumed hearing of the case.

The counsel of PM informed the court that the premier’s statement was taken incorrectly, clarifying that his client didn’t commit contempt deliberately.

In quite a unique move, Aitzaz said neither he would term court order incorrect nor he would claim immunity for President Asif Ali Zardari under the Constitution of Pakistan, rather he would argue that head of the state enjoyed immunity under international law.

He reiterated his previous stance, saying Gilani cannot write a letter to Swiss authorities to reopen corruption cases against Asif Ali Zardari, as the court asked to do so. Under the Article 248 of the Constitution, the president enjoys immunity in 198 countries.

The counsel raised a question that why only the premier was held responsible for the contempt of court, as former Law Secretary and Attorney General had advised Gilani for not dispatching the letter to Switzerland.

He explained that the abovementioned two officials sent the advice to the prime minister, narrating him that the president enjoys immunity and that the letter cannot be dispatched.

Upon which, Justice Usmani remarked that the court was never informed about the premier’s view.

The lawyer asserted his stance was not that the court’s ruling will not be implemented but that it will be implemented later on. He prayed to the court that the Attorney General should be presented before the court as a witness instead of a prosecutor.

Earlier, the apex court gave the premier an option to either submit a written reply to the court on March 19 or appear before the court in person on March 21. The prime minister, however, chose submitting a reply in which he clearly declined to abide by with the court rulings.

Contempt of court proceedings against the sitting prime minister were initiated by the court after the government refused to dispatch a letter to Swiss authorities in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=16611

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Mar 21 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.