KHI 17-01-2012_Layout 1 1/17/2012 3:35 AM Page 1
pakistantoday.com.pk
rs15.00 Vol ii no 201 22 pages karachi edition
If govt goes, so does everyone else, says PM ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
In a clear show of defiance and determination against unknown pressures, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday made it clear to all and sundry that if the democratic government was sent packing, all (political parties and media) would have to go along. Throughout the National Assembly session, Gilani was actively involved in hectic lobbying to get the Awami National Party (ANP)backed resolution passed unanimously. However, when talks between the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) broke down, Gilani directed the party leaders to get the resolution passed separately. In a bid to clear the air about perceptions that the government-backed resolution was aimed against a state institution, the prime minister said the resolution was not aimed against the army or the judiciary. He also said the Supreme Court and army had to protect democracy and they would not derail or pack up the system. “The judiciary or the army may have differences of opinion with the government but if there is no democracy, nothing would survive and all would have to go. Nobody will go in separate boxes. If the democratic system is packed up, all of us would have to go home. No one would go alone and rather all would go in the same box,” Gilani warned while making a passionate speech on the floor of the House. Feeling the heat from the apex court’s contempt notice, the visibly perturbed prime minister reminded the judiciary and parliamentarians about his contributions to the restoration of the deposed judges. “The court has issued a notice to me and I will appear before the court on January 19 to show my utmost respect for the institution. Even before taking oath as prime minister, in my first speech made on the floor of the House, I ordered the release of the judges. Even then you say that I am not loyal? I don’t need a certificate for this,” he said. Congratulating the coalition partners on the passage of the government-moved resolution in support of the parliament by the National Assembly, Gilani termed the passage “a defining moment” in the history of the country and the best day for democracy. Gilani said restoring the deposed judges was “like showing a red rag to the bull” as General Pervez Musharraf, who was president of the country at the time, would not have liked it. He said he was beaten with sticks, suffered tear gas and was even jailed and faced anti-terrorism cases for taking part in the campaign to restore the judges. “What more could I have done to show my sincerity,” he said, adding that his party had also suffered for the cause of the judiciary. He urged the judiciary to protect the “species” of politicians like him who he said “are committed to their parties and ideologies”. The prime minister said the resolution would strengthen democracy, democratic institutions and would show the sovereignty of parliament. He thanked all the coalition partners for backing the resolution and the mover of the resolution, ANP President Asfandyar Wali Khan. “We did not come to the assembly under threat and we are not against any institution. We did not come here to protect ourselves,” he said. Gilani said Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto had laid down their lives for democracy and credit was due to this parliament that it had restored the 1973 Constitution to its original form. Referring to the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), the prime minister said it would be discriminatory to hold the government responsible for the controversial law as the creator of the law was free and the PPP was facing the wrath of the judiciary. “We did not make the NRO. The one who made this law is roaming free and all others are facing the music,” he said. He added that the PML-N did not have the intention to support the resolution from the very beginning. The resolution was not presented earlier because the opposition was asking that it should be presented on January 16, he said.
president asks pm to stand tall | page 22
tuesday, 17 January, 2012 safar 22, 1433
SC FINDS GILANI IN CONTEMPT
Issues show-cause notice to Gilani telling him to appear in court on 19th and explain why he should not be held in contempt g
ISLAMABAD
T
MaSooD ReHMaN
HE Supreme Court issued a contempt of court notice to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday for failing to implement the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) verdict and directed him to personally appear in court on January 19 and explain why contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against him for not obeying court orders. A seven-member special bench headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk issued the contempt notice after Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq told it that he had not received any instructions from the government so far about implementation of the NRO verdict. The bench was formed to decide six options suggested earlier by a five-member bench on January 10 that the court could take in the case. At the outset of the hearing, the court was told that the attorney general was not present as he was appearing before the judicial commission probing the memo case at the Islamabad High Court. The court then adjourned the proceedings for some time and summoned the attorney general. When the attorney general finally arrived, he told the court that he had conveyed the January 10 order containing six options to the president, prime minister and all other authorities concerned. To a court query, he said he was not given any instructions from the government in the matter. The court then gave him some
time to seek the government’s instructions, however, he failed to get any instructions during that time. Justice Nasirul Mulk then observed that when one does not turn up, it is considered that one has nothing to say. When the court enquired about writing of a letter to Swiss authorities to reopen money laundering cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, the attorney general said he had not received any instructions from the government to this effect either. He said option six of the court’s order was very clear. The court then asked him to give arguments on the six options and noted that if anyone wanted to defend themselves, they should appear in court. The attorney general told the court that he wanted to give arguments on implementation of the NRO verdict. He said the NRO verdict could be enforced through the high courts, thus it should be referred to the high courts. However, to a court query, he said under Article 187 of the constitution, issuance of any order was the discretion of the apex court. Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan noted that the time had not come to enforce the NRO verdict through the high courts. During the hearing, Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa noted that the office of the prime minister was very respectable. He said the impression that the court had given six options to the government was wrong, as he said these options were for the court’s own consideration. He also
pointed out that it was wrong to suggest that the court declared the prime minister dishonest. He said the court had written in its order that the failure or refusal of the prime minister to completely obey and execute the directions issued in the NRO case reflected that, at least prima facie, he may not be an “honest” person on account of his not being honest to the oath of his office. Meanwhile, the court issued a show-cause notice to the prime minister to argue why contempt of court proceedings should not be initiated against
It’s better to cooperate with judges, Wyne advises Zardari
NA adopts pro-democracy resolution ISLAMABAD Staff RepoRt
ISLAMABAD SHaIQ HUSSaIN
As the political crisis facing the government grew worse on Monday with the Supreme Court issuing a contempt of court notice to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani for failing to implement the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) verdict, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) Chairman General Khalid Shameem Wyne called on President Asif Ali Zardari with a word of advice to opt for cooperation with the judiciary. General Wyne, in his meeting with the president here at the Presidency, observed that the army wanted the resolution of the memo scandal in the Supreme Court and was not in favour of any undemocratic or unconstitutional act, according to a source privy to the discussion. The military leadership was worried about the worsening political situation in the country and wanted the resolution of all issues between the state institutions within the ambit of the constitution and in accordance with the law, he said. He said the JCSC chairman said every other institution should also
him under the contempt law and personally summoned him on January 19. The court noted that the contempt notice should be considered and read in the backdrop of the January 10 order containing the six options. Legal experts say the prime minister can lose his parliamentary seat if he is found in contempt of court. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Information Secretary Qamar Zaman Kaira told AFP that Gilani would appear in court. “God willing, he will,” said Kaira.
opt for restraint and not confrontation as the country was facing serious challenges that could be overcome with harmony between the organs of state. “It’s time to follow the constitution and take every step in accordance with the law,” the source quoted General Wyne as saying. He said President Zardari told General Wyne that the government would never resort to any unlawful action and would fully abide by the constitution. “The president said he and his party were against clashing with any institution and wanted a good working relation-
ship with all of them,” the source said. Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had also had a meeting with the president on Saturday and discussed with him the political situation in the country. Political observers here attach great significance to these meetings against the backdrop of the government’s confrontation with the army and judiciary. To them, the purpose of these meetings was to convey to the political leadership the prevailing worry and concern among the military ranks over the grave political crisis.
Rejecting amendments introduced by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the National Assembly on Monday adopted the pro-democracy resolution moved by Awami National Party (ANP) chief Asfandyar Wali Khan with majority vote, while the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl, one of the opposition parties, also supported the resolution. The PML-N members walked out of the session to protest against the passage of the resolution. However, the treasury benches introduced an amendment in paragraph four of the original text of the resolution on the advice of the PML-N with the modification that ‘the House reiterates that sovereignty lies with Almighty Allah and to be exercised by the people of Pakistan and parliament is the repository of the collective wisdom of the people”. Earlier, Asfandyar Wali’s resolution stated: “This House reiterates that sovereignty lies with the people of Pakistan and the parliament is the repository of the collective wisdom of the people.” Taking part in the debate on the resolution, Opposition Leader Chaudhry Continued on page 02