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Whitney Houston found dead in Los Angeles hotel
So PML-N MPAs will ‘eat land’ now?
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pakistantoday.com.pk
rs15.00 vol ii no 227 22 pages Lahore edition
Don’t even think of compromise with Israel, Iran tells Hamas PAGE 18
monday, 13 February, 2012 rabi-ul-awal 20, 1433
NEPRA throws out govt appeal against tariff increase Law secretary, other officials concerned may be among the witnesses g PM faces six months in jail, fine or both under contempt law if charges are proven g SC withdraws order barring PM’s car from entering court premises g
ISLAMABAD MASOOD REHMAN
ll roads lead to the Supreme Court today (Monday). After rejection of his appeal, a seven-judge bench will frame contempt of court charges against Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani for not implementing the orders of the apex court. Barrister Aitzaz Ahsen will represent the prime minister, who will also be present in Courtroom No 4. The SC had ordered on Sunday that Gilani’s car would not be allowed into the porch of the apex court building and the premier must get out at the gate and walk into the court to be indicted, but later withdrew the order after Interior Minister Rehman Malik wrote to the SC registrar highlighting potential security threats to the premier if his vehicle was not allowed into the court premises. Headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk, the bench, comprising Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan, Justice Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Muhammad Ather Saeed, will indict the prime minister. Earlier, on Friday, an eight-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had dismissed an intra-court appeal of the prime minister against the seven-judge bench’s February 2 decision of framing contempt charge against Gilani on February 13 (today) for not writing a letter to foreign authorities to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari and others despite the court repeatedly ordering the government to do so. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is determined that the letter would not be written. President Asif Ali Zardari is on the record saying the party had decided not to write the letter, “come what may”. Similarly, the Supreme Court has also made it clear that the letter has to be written. Hence, the prime minister will stand in the dock today for disobeying the court in order to prove his loyalty to the PPP. The only option for the prime minister to save himself from being convicted and disqualified from holding any public office is to apologise for disrespecting the court and write the letter. Continued on page 04
government’s stanCe remains unChanged | page 02
Will lose job if convicted : Gilani ISLAMABAD: Beleaguered Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has conceded he would automatically lose his job if he is convicted of contempt, as he prepared to face the Supreme Court on Monday (today). The apex court threw out a lastditch appeal by Gilani on Friday and is now set to indict him for contempt over his refusal to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. If convicted, Gilani faces six months in jail and disqualification from office in a case that has rocked his government and is expected to force elections within months. Asked during an interview with Al Jazeera television at the weekend whether he would quit if found guilty, he conceded a conviction would lead to him losing his job - but said he could leave office without actually resigning. “Certainly then there is no need to step down if I am convicted, I am not supposed to be even the member of the parliament,” Gilani said. The Supreme Court has ordered Gilani to appear for the framing of contempt charges over the government’s two-year refusal to ask Swiss authorities to reopen corruption cases against Zardari. Gilani insisted that Zardari as president had immunity from prosecution both in Pakistan and abroad, adding that cases against his boss were “politically motivated”. “Whatever the charges that were leveled against him, he fought those cases in the court, he was exonerated. There had been lot of cases against him and they were all politically motivated,” Gilani said.In the wide-ranging interview, he also criticised US drone attacks on militants near the Afghan border as counterproductive and said Pakistan never authorised them. AFP
ISLAMABAD AMER SIAL
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has rejected the government’s appeal seeking a revision in the fuel price increase, which will result in significant increase in power tariff for the current fiscal year, an official source said on Sunday. NEPRA had converted into an appeal the reservations expressed by the Water and Power Ministry (WPM) through an official letter against the inclusion of fuel price, by changing its base price from Rs 46,000 to Rs 65,000 per tonne, and an inhouse hearing was held on February 9. Continued on page 04