Pakistan Supreme Court rejects plea to adjourn crucial hearing
October 11th, 2010 - 8:02 pm ICT by IANS
By Awais Saleem
Islamabad, Oct 11 (IANS) In a decision that has considerable political bearing in Pakistan, the country’s Supreme Court Monday rejected the government’s plea to adjourn the hearing on a petition seeking review of the national reconciliation ordinance (NRO) under which President Asif Ali Zardari along with others were granted amnesty in corruption cases.
The government had submitted an application in the apex court last Saturday seeking more time to appoint a new counsel in the case saying that the present counsel, Kamal Azfar, had been appointed as an adviser to the prime minister and a new lawyer needed to be appointed in the case.
Chief Justice Iftukhar Muhammad Chaudhary rejected the plea and ordered withdrawal of the government notification regarding appointment of Kamal Azfar as adviser.
“The hearing of the NRO review petition will be held Oct 13 as per schedule,” the chief justice said.
The government had appointed Kamal Azfar, a former Sindh governor and the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) loyalist, as adviser to Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on disaster management. The move was seen by many as a ploy to delay the proceedings.
Meanwhile, the government has reportedly decided to file another appeal against Monday’s decision.
The NRO was introduced by former President Pervez Musharraf that paved the way for the return of exiled leader Banazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari, who has since been elected as the country’s president.
The corruption cases against the politicians were closed under NRO. However, the apex court struck down the ordinance in December, 2009 and decided to re-open all such cases. The court also ordered to re-open the cases against Zardari in Swiss courts.
The Swiss cases pertain to accusations against Zardari of amassing ill-gotten wealth through several off-shore companies and depositing it in Swiss bank accounts. The PPP-led central government has filed a review petition in the apex court against the NRO case verdict and the hearing is scheduled to be held Oct 13.
- SC made 'mistake' by asking to reopen Swiss graft cases against Zardari: Pak Govt. - Jun 07, 2010
- Pak SC adjourns hearing of NRO review petition till Tuesday - Apr 11, 2011
- Zardari graft case: Pakistani government seeks time from Supreme Court - May 25, 2010
- Gilani won't ask Switzerland to reopen cases against Zardari - Feb 10, 2012
- Cases against Zardari can't be reopened in Swiss courts: Khosa - Oct 15, 2010
- Attorney general gets court order in Zardari case - Mar 10, 2012
- Watan party moves Pak SC to stop reopening of Swiss cases against Zardari - Sep 24, 2010
- National Reconciliation Ordinance is a valid law, Pak Govt tells SC - Jun 08, 2010
- Gilani contempt: Court summons top official - Feb 28, 2012
- Can't write letter against Zardari: Gilani's counsel to court - Mar 21, 2012
- "Oct 13 will come and go" without any "bad" incident over NRO review hearing: Gilani - Oct 12, 2010
- Gilani contempt verdict to be announced April 26 - Apr 24, 2012
- Pak govt 'won't force' NRO-tainted ministers to quit "unless proved guilty" - Sep 30, 2010
- Pakistan's Supreme Court issues contempt notice to Gilani - Jan 16, 2012
- Evidence submitted in Gilani's contempt case - Feb 22, 2012
Tags: apex court, asif ali, azfar, bhutto, chief justice, corruption cases, disaster management, gilani, government notification, kamal, national reconciliation, nro, pakistan peoples party, pakistan supreme court, pervez musharraf, president pervez musharraf, saleem, sindh, swiss bank, swiss courts