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| India-Pakistan | |
| Gilani to be indicted for refusing to pursue Gomez | |
| 2012-02-03 | |
| ISLAMABAD: Relations between the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the judiciary were further strained on Thursday when the apex court, rejecting all arguments of the state counsel, summoned Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to appear on Feb. 13 to be indicted with contempt over his refusal to pursue corruption cases against the president. Experts say that if convicted, Gilani could be jailed for up to six months and disqualified from public office. Speaking to reporters, Aitzaz Ahsan, the premier’s counsel, said he would advise his client to appeal against the charges, “but this is just a procedural matter.” Meanwhile, Raja Zafar-ul-Haq, chairman of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Punjab chapter, told Arab News he doesn’t think that Gilani would remain in his office after the next hearing. “This is the end of the road for Gilani. Given the way they (the government) were treating the Supreme Court, the conviction looks logical,” he said. Judge Nasir-ul-Mulk told the court there were grounds to proceed against Gilani over the government’s refusal to follow a court order and ask Swiss authorities to reopen corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The government argued that Zardari has immunity from prosecution while head of state and accused judges of plotting with the military to wage a witch-hunt against him. Switzerland shelved the cases in 2008, when Zardari took office. Most of senior constitutional lawyers do not agree with the president’s immunity under Article 248. Habib Wahabul Khairi argued that they (the government) have lost a case that had no substance in that. “Several Supreme Court decisions — especially the one in which a six-member bench headed by then Chief Justice Hamoodur Rahman in 1975 — have established that no corruption charges can be withheld under immunity plea against any head of state,” he said. For many, appointing Ahsan as the PM’s counsel was a pressure tactic, but since he himself was one of the candidates as Gilani’s replacement, there were less chances of his success. “He had no argument in the court thus doomed the political carrier of Gilani.” Khairi added. Lt. Gen. Abdul Qayyum, former aide of Army Chief Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kayani, while talking to Arab News, expressed his satisfaction over the active role of the higher judiciary. He said Pakistani courts have set a new precedent by proving that no one is above the law.
In early January, the judges threatened to hold Gilani in contempt if he didn’t write the letter to the Swiss authorities, and ordered him to make a rare appearance before the court to plead his case. Gilani struck a conciliatory tone before the judges on Jan. 19, and his lawyer, Ahsan, agreed to argue the issue of the president’s immunity when the hearing resumed. The government previously insisted presidential immunity was a right, and therefore didn’t need to be debated in court. But Ahsan appeared to do a U-turn, refusing to specifically address the issue of presidential immunity. Instead, he simply argued that Gilani should not be held in contempt because his lawyers advised him he did not have to send the letter. The judges didn’t accept that, and after five-hours of debate, said Gilani would be charged. Ahsan said he would advise Gilani to appeal before Feb. 13, something that could draw out the proceedings further. A defendant has the right to appeal in a contempt case in Pakistan even before a trial begins. “It was my wish that there confrontation between institutions of the state should be avoided, but now the situation is looking tense,” Ahsan told reporters outside the court. Government supporters say the court is trying to oust Zardari because of enmity between the president and the chief justice. They also claim the case can’t be separated from tensions between the government and the army, which has carried out three coups in the country’s history. In those cases, the Supreme Court either stood by or legitimized the actions. The court has also ordered an inquiry into a secret memo scandal that is also threatening Zardari. The memo was allegedly sent to Washington by the government last year asking for help in stopping a supposed military coup. The government has denied the allegations, and the case appeared to lose steam last week when the main witness refused to come to Pakistan to testify. The graft case against Zardari relates to kickbacks that he and his late wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, allegedly received from Swiss companies when Bhutto was in power. They were found guilty in absentia in a Swiss court in 2003. Zardari appealed, but Swiss prosecutors ended up dropping the case after the Pakistani Parliament passed a bill giving the president and others immunity from old corruption cases that many agreed were politically motivated. The Pakistani Supreme Court ruled the bill unconstitutional in 2009, triggering the slow moving process. Since January, the case has consumed Pakistan’s highly polarized political and media elite, deflecting attention from what many say are existential threats to the country like an ailing economy and a violent Islamist insurgency that is showing little sign of ebbing. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |