I acted within the limits of the Constitution: PM Gilani
January 19, 2012 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
TrendPK.com
ISLAMABAD: A seven-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC) is currently in a hearing of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) Implementation case which saw a turning point when Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani appeared before the bench stressing that he did not intended contempt.
Standing on the rostrum before the seven judges, PM Gilani stated that he acted in absolute harmony with the Constitution which enshrines immunity for the President of the state.
Justice Nasirul Mulk appreciated the PM’s appearance at the court.
As the Prime Minister’s representative, Former Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Aitezaz Ahsan said that the Secretary Law was instructed regarding the Swiss letter on January 3.
Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said the Secretary brought a summary which the court jettisoned.
Gilani said he looked at the operational part of the summary, which advised not to write the letter.
Justice Nasir said the court termed this summary as a summary of non-implementation.
Justice Khosa said the petitioner was not asked in the order to issue a summary, adding that the summary of the NRO implementation sent by the Law Ministry was not intended to implement it; instead, it was to stay the implementation.
Earlier, the PM said, “We honor the judicial order in compliance with the Constitution. Had there been no constitution, there would have been no respect for you and us.”
“What message will go across the world if we send the President to the court keeping in view the President and Prime Minister enjoy complete immunity?” he said to the court.
He maintained that he never attempted such a step which caused contempt of the court, adding that the PPP leadership all the way from Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to President Asif Ali Zardari had appeared before the court.
I came here to appear before the court under charge while others showed up as a token of respect for the judiciary, the PM said.
Meanwhile, helicopters are inspecting the security situation around the court premises. High alert of security in the city has caused serious troubles to common people who faced massive hurdles in reaching their respective destinations. TrendPK
PM Gilani cancels contract orders of 9 top officials
ISLAMABAD: Following the directives of Supreme Court, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has cancelled the contract orders of nine top officials including Director General FIA and Sindh IG police, TrendPK reported Friday.
On the directions of SC, the Establishment Division recommended to cancel contracts of 15 officials.
PM Gilani has signed the summary of cancellation contract orders of Sindh IG Salauddin Babar Khattak, DG FIA Waseem Ahmed, Additional IG railways Akhtar Hayat, Karachi DIG Traffic Khurram Gulzar, DIG Training Karachi Nadir Hussain Khoso, DIG Larkana Din Mohammad Baloch, DIG Gilgit Farman Ali, Joint Director IB General Tariq Jamil and Deputy Director General Asghar Mehmood.
The Establishment Division will issue the notification soon. TrendPK
Latif Khosa Appointed as Punjab Governor
January 11, 2011 by Trend PK
Filed under Breaking News
ISLAMABAD, trendpk: President Asif Ali Zardari appointed close aide Latif Khosa to succeed the murdered governor of the Punjab province Salman Taseer on recommendation by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Earlier, President Zardari held consultations with senior leaders of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in connection with the appointment of Punjab governor at Bilawal House in Karachi. The announcement was made public after an elaborate meeting between Latif Khosa and Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, which was held on January 9.
Later on the same date, the PM Gilani sent to President Zardari the summary with recommendation for appointing Latif Khosa as new Punjab governor. According to President House’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar, Presdient Zardari today signed the summary.
Analysts say Khosa will try to avoid antagonising the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to tamp down disputes that have paralysed the federal government. Though soft-spoken and non-confontational, he is an ardent supporter of the PPP.
Khosa is the successor of Salman Taseer, the outspoken governor of the central province of Punjab, who was gunned down by one of his bodyguards in Islamabad on Tuesday for supporting changes in the country’s blasphemy law.
Khosa said earlier on Saturday that Zardari had called him along with Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar and Finance Minister Hafeez Sheikh for a meeting in Karachi.
“I will accept whatever the decision of my leadership,” he said.
Taseer was fiery and often clashed publicly with Nawaz and his brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shabaz Sharif. Khosa, on the other hand, is soft-spoken and non-confrontational. But he is an ardent supporter of the PPP.
Khosa’s appointment comes just one day before an ultimatum given by Nawaz Sharif to Zardari’s government on Tuesday to accept a list of his demands or face expulsion of PPP members from the Punjab provincial government.
Latif Khosa is a Pakistani senator and advocate, and the previous Attorney General of Pakistan. He was appointed the Attorney General on 19 August, 2008. He co-authored an electoral fraud report with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto shortly before her assassination in December 2007. Khosa was one of Bhutto’s top aides.
Senator Khosa appeared before the acting Chief Justice Javaid Iqbal in a hearing over the handling of the Iftikhar Chaudry sacking issue. Khosa claimed to be working to have the ex-Chief Justice reinstated.
Latif Khosa has been recently removed form the office of Attorney General of Pakistan on October 10th 2009 due to allegations and on 10 February 2010 as Advisor of Information Technology of Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
On 20 July 2010, advisor to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Information Technology Sardar Latif Khosa sent his resignation to the President after developing disagreements with the Premier.
Govt not Obstacle in Accountability lLaw: Awan
ISLAMABAD: Federal Law Minister Babar Awan has said that the government has not been an obstacle in passage of the Accountability Bill. He said passing the bill into law is responsibility of the National Assembly.
N
AB ordinance was issued in broad daylight and in accordance with the rules and regulations, he said.
Speaking on the floor of the lower house, Babar Awan said that news reports regarding issuance of NAB ordinance in the darkness of night are baseless and false and is a part of media trial against the government.
He told that on Sept 6, 2010 summary was sent to Prime Minister after which PM secretariat forwarded the summary to President on 7th September as advice. On 8th September the President inked the summary and approved the summary.
On 9th September the summary was sent back to the Law Ministry by the PM secretariat and on 16 September a notification to this effect was published in the gazette.
“We are not afraid of accountability,” he said.
He said those involved in manhandling of lawyers will be taken to task and cases will be registered against those involved in beating the lawyers during a protest.
PM was aware of amended NAB ordinance issue: Awan
October 5, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Federal Law Minister Babar Awan has said that the Prime Minister knew about the issuance of the amended NAB ordinance (2010).
Addressing the National Assembly, Babar said that the summary for the issuance of amended NAB ordinance had been sent on September 6 to the PM’s Principal Secretary.
He added that on September 7, the PM sent his advice for the issuance of ordinance to the President.
On September 8, the summary was signed by the President and the next day, it returned to the Ministry of Law.
“The Law Ministry issued an official gazette notification for the issuance of the amended NAB ordinance 2010,” the Federal Law Minister added. SAMAA
NRO case: SC gives fortnight to Govt for review
Accepting Governments plea, the Supreme Court on Monday put off hearing of the NRO implementation ruling for a fortnight.
The next hearing would take place on October 13, 2010.
The court accepted the application for the delay in writing letters to the Swiss courts. The CJ, however, asked that why the convicts have not been arrested yet, and why no action has been taken against former attorney general Malik Qayyum.
Earlier, the Attorney General submitted an application in the Supreme Court requesting it to adjourn the hearing of the implementation of NRO ruling and reopening of Swiss cases.
The application pleaded that he could not complete his homework on the case because of some unavoidable preoccupations of Prime Minister Gilani as he remained busy in flood-related issues besides others.
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, would hear the cases.
All eyes are already focused on the Supreme Court today when the judiciary resumes hearing the all-important cases of the 18th Amendment, implementation of its judgment on the NRO, appointment of NRO beneficiaries at key posts and missing people. Each one of them has a bearing on the survival of the PPP-led political dispensation.
The federal governments lawyer was likely to present in court the summary proposal ratified by the PM with respect to the reopening of Swiss cases. On Friday, Attorney General Anwarul Haq told the court that the PM has approved the summary proposal on which the CJ warned of the consequences in case of defiance.
Delay would be detrimental: Justice Tariq
Justice (r) Tariq Mehmood, while talking to Dunya News, said that anyone could file an application for deferment; however only the court could decide whether to defer the case or not.
He warned that delay would be harmful for the country, saying that the cases should be resolved as early as possible. He said in parliamentary system, chief executive of the country is the sole authority and he can also sack the ministers bit we all know that PM Gilani is not the sole authority.
Govt does not have sound excuses: AK Dogar
Talking to Dunya News, Advocate AK Dogar asked that for how long the government wanted to buy time as there is limit to everything. He said that by far the SC has shown great degree of patience but the government is putting lame excuses for postponement of the hearing.
Khalid Ranjha calls upon SC to adjourn cases
Advocate Khalid Ranjha, while talking to Dunya News, said that to avoid confrontation between institutions, the apex court should give time keeping in view the inability of the government to complete homework regarding the NRO cases.
Govts demand for time not a good omen: Qazi Anwar
Talking on the issue, Qazi Anwar, President Supreme Court Bar Association, said that governments demand for time to review the case is not a good omen.
He said that the development has rendered vagueness to governments stance with regards to the NRO cases.
Referring to the busy schedule of the PM, Qazai said that the excuse is lame for governments international and national engagements are consistent. He maintained that now it is existential issue for the judiciary to get its orders implemented by the executive organs of the country.
Govt wants to linger case: Justice Wajihuddin
Justice (r) Wajihuddin said that the government is using delaying tactics and wanted to linger the case.
AG files petition in SC for deferment of NRO cases
The government has submitted an application in the Supreme Court requesting adjourn the hearing of the implementation of NRO ruling and reopening of Swiss cases, which the SC is to resume at 1:00pm today (Monday).
The application, submitted by Attorney General Anwarul Haq, pleaded that he (AG) could not complete work on the case due to some preoccupations of Prime Minister Gilani who remained busy with flood-related issues besides others.
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, would hear the cases.
All eyes are already focused on the Supreme Court today when the judiciary resumes hearing the all-important cases of the 18th Amendment, implementation of its judgment on the NRO, appointment of NRO beneficiaries at key posts and missing people. Each one of them has a bearing on the survival of the PPP-led political dispensation.
The federal governments lawyer was likely to present in court the summary proposal ratified by the PM with respect to the reopening of Swiss cases. On Friday, Attorney General Anwarul Haq told the court that the PM has approved the summary proposal on which the CJ warned of the consequences in case of defiance.
Delay would be detrimental: Justice Tariq
Justice (r) Tariq Mehmood, while talking to Dunya News, said that anyone could file an application for deferment; however only the court could decide whether to defer the case or not.
He warned that delay would be harmful for the country, saying that the cases should be resolved as early as possible. He said in parliamentary system, chief executive of the country is the sole authority and he can also sack the ministers bit we all know that PM Gilani is not the sole authority.
Justice (r) Wajihuddin said that the government is using delaying tactics and wanted to linger the case.
Govt does not have sound excuses: AK Dogar
Talking to Dunya News, Advocate AK Dogar asked that for how long the government wanted to buy time as there is limit to everything. He said that by far the SC has shown great degree of patience but the government is putting lame excuses for postponement of the hearing.
PM sanctions summary proposal; SC warns against defiance
A solemn Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Friday warned Prime Minister against defiance regarding implementation of court orders.
A 17-member larger bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, of the SC was hearing the NRO cases.
The Prime Minister is a judicious person and very well aware of the repercussions of non compliance of court orders, the CJ remarked.
The Chief Justice maintained that in case of non implementation of court rulings, the court would have to take some other decision.
We have to maintain rule of law in the country, Chief Justice Chaudhry said. The court ordered the Attorney General Anwarul Haq to apprise the court of Governments response on Swiss cases on the next hearing.
The court deferred the case till Monday (Sept 27).
Earlier, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has ratified the summary forwarded to him by the law ministry, which suggested that no case could be initiated against President Asif Ali Zardari in Swiss courts.
In a five-point summary sent to the PM on Thursday, the law ministry expressed serious reservations regarding reopening of Swiss cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. The summary has been prepared on the directives of the apex court.
The summary states that the Swiss cases against President Asif Ali Zardari cannot be reopened for it would be tantamount to put countrys sovereignty at stake.
It added that national assembly, senate and president could not be separated and parliament is supreme and hence its supremacy could not be challenged.
The summary also states that as per law, no incumbent president could be prosecuted in any other country.
Summary of Swiss cases expected to be presented in SC today
September 24, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: A summary of Swiss cases has been sent to the Prime Minister by the Law Ministry; it is expected that after the Prime Minister’s signature, the summary will be presented in the Supreme Court (SC) today.
According to Law Ministry sources, the government has decided on principle, that it will not write a letter to the Swiss court in compliance with the Supreme Court’s orders.
Earlier on Thursday, the Federal Law Ministry sent a summary on the Swiss cases to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. According to sources, the summary describes the cases as closed; and can not be reopened as the President enjoys constitutional immunity under Article-248.
The summary further describes the President as a part of Parliament; he is also the Commander in Chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces (PAF) and his cases can not be opened, nor can a letter
Law Ministry sends Swiss cases summary to PM Gilani
September 23, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Law Ministry has sent a summary on Swiss cases to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
According to sources, the summary describes that the cases had been closed and they can not be reopened.
The summary further describes that the President enjoys constitutional immunity under Article-248; his cases cannot be opened, nor can a letter be written to any other country to reopen his cases.
Sources added it is possible that the Prime Minister’s letter regarding Swiss cases will be presented in the Supreme Court on Thursday. SAMAA
