Decisive battle between Pak Supreme Court and Zardari

 The battle of check and mate between Pakistan Supreme Court and President Asif Ali Zardari is inching towards climax. Supreme Court is bent upon removing President Zardari, whereas in spite of all the odds, Zardari is still clinging to the seat of power. The latest in the related developments is that the Court has directed the present Prime Minister, Raja Parvez Ashraf to write to the Swiss Government by 25^th July to reopen graft cases against President Zardari. Earlier, Yousuf Raza Gillani had been forced to relinquish the post of the Prime Minister, after which Ashraf took over as the Prime Minister of the country. The five member Bench under the chairmanship of Justice Asif Saed Khan hopes that the Prime Minister would write to the Swiss Government and would submit a report to this effect before the Court on the next hearing scheduled to be held on 25^th July. The Bench has threatened to initiate action according to the Constitution against the Prime Minister, in case Court's directions are not followed. This order of Supreme Court comes in the wake of the latest bill of the Zardari Government. Before getting Court's order, President Zardari had signed a bill that provided to protect top Government leaders from contempt of court proceedings. The Contempt of Court Bill, 2012 has now become a law and this has been brought to protect Prime Minister Raja Parvez Ashraf from possible contempt of Court and it will also act as a shield to protect President Zardari also. The Spokesman of the President, Farhatullah Babbar has said that the President has also given his assent to the Court Contempt Bill, 2012 after it has been passed by both the houses of National Assembly. According to this Act, no Court will now initiate contempt proceedings against the President, the Prime Minister, Federal Ministers and Governors. President Zardari has signed this Bill, few hours before the the proceedings in connection with the reopening of graft cases against Zardari in Switzerland. This law will replace earlier two Ordinances regarding the contempt of Court promulgated by the then Military Ruler Parvez Musharraf in 2003 and 2004. This Bill was passed in the lower house i.e. National Assembly on Monday. Then, after heated discussions, it was passed on Wednesday in the upper house, Senate. The members of the ruling Pakistan People's Party are of the view that the Supreme Court is pursuing this matter with political vendetta and it is bent upon dismissing the Government. Pakistan is already fighting terrorism, the country is facing a grave power and economic crisis and it has been tolerating a sick political instability for long. There has been a massive power struggle between Pakistan's civilian government and Pakistan Army, since 2008, when Parvez Musharraf was removed from power. The new law is definitely going to face legal opposition. This whole dispute started in 2007, when the then President, Musharraf had through the National Reconciliation Ordinance closed the graft cases against about eight thousand persons. This had benefitted Zardari and Rehman Malik also. The Supreme Court annulled this law in December 2009 and directed the Government to reopen the cases against all the persons including Zardari. The Swiss administration, on the request of the Pak government, closed money laundering case against Zardari involving $ 60 million. The Pak masses have become deeply involved in this matter and to some extent have been divided also. Some of them are of the view that the Supreme Court is over zealous in this matter and working with vendetta. The Chief Justice of Supreme Court has said that he would root out corruption from the country. So far as President Zardari is concerned, he is very unpopular among masses. They want to get rid of him, but they also do not want to put an end to the democratic system in the country. They fear that the Army could take advantage of this fight between the government and the Supreme Court and usurp the reigns of power once again. There is one way out and that is mid-term elections for the Assembly. But, Zardari will not be prepared for this. He wants to adhere to power as long as he can, but it is to be seen that how long he will be able to prolong this game.

 

--Anil Narendra