The money and time wasted by present CJ in above case require his resignation. He has wasted four and half years and almost 80% of his time as CJ on this case alone, wrongly sending one PM to home. Government should calculate the money spent on this useless project and debit this amount to Chaudhry Iftekhar and those intelligence agencies behind it.. It is now moral duty of him to resign and go home. That is the height of stupidity of this CJ ahd those in background in wasting millions perhaps billions of poor people’s money. Shame on them.
In light of the Supreme Court’s verdict in the NRO implementation case, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government had sent the letter to the Swiss authorities in Nov last year.
Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had to face disqualification for committing contempt of court by not writing the letter to Swiss authorities. The two-year standoff between the government and the judiciary was resolved when Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf appeared before the court and informed it that the government was ready to write the letter.
Sources told DawnNews that the government has received a written response from Swiss authorities on Saturday.
Federal Law Minister Farooq H. Naek has confirmed receiving the letter in which the Swiss authorities have said that according to international laws, President Zardari enjoys immunity against all criminal charges. They said that actions can not be taken against him till he holds the post of president.
Meanwhile, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira, by welcoming the decision, has urged the party supporters to not “over-celebrate.”**
Re: Swiss authorities refuse to reopen graft cases against President Zardari
The government very well knew by delaying the case for few more days until deadline by Swiss laws the case will be nullified and now you are jumping up and down to prosecute CJ
Re: Swiss authorities refuse to reopen graft cases against President Zardari
The CJ mismanaged this in more than one way. Zardari is a convicted criminal. As part of the reversal of the NRO declaration, Zardari's appointment as President should have been deemed null and void because of his prior convictions. The swiss authorities should have been written to after that.
This has been the worst phase in Pakistan's governance, where criminals have ruled the roost, and have lived to tell about it.
Re: Swiss authorities refuse to reopen graft cases against President Zardari
The CJ mismanaged this in more than one way. Zardari is a convicted criminal. As part of the reversal of the NRO declaration, Zardari's appointment as President should have been deemed null and void because of his prior convictions. The swiss authorities should have been written to after that.
This has been the worst phase in Pakistan's governance, where criminals have ruled the roost, and have lived to tell about it.
I have not been able to understand why Zardari’s appointment was not declared void because of his prior conviction, once the NRO was repealed. Musharraf has proven to be Zardari’s best friend so far.
Re: Swiss authorities refuse to reopen graft cases against President Zardari
Same is the case with Mqm, TTP and LEJ. No conviction so why do we keep on crying that Malik Ishaq has been freed.
At least he tried to do something against all of the above including Zardari. But he did nothing against Malik Ishaque and let him go free.
and it is not just about ishaq. Iftikhar has not even taken any notice of thousands of people who have died in sectarian attacks. Iftikhar did want Balochistan govt to go. But not because it failed to curb massacre of minorities but because of Baloch nationalists
Re: Swiss authorities refuse to reopen graft cases against President Zardari
**
iftikhar ki Kachi ho gai.
amazing that media did not mention Iftikhar when giving this news.
What will Iftikhar do now? Nawaz and Aurangzeb Faruqi should now give him some solace.
Re: Swiss authorities refuse to reopen graft cases against President Zardari
I can't wait for the CJ to take somoto against the Swiss authorities. :D Sometime I wonder if this guy knows anything about law all all. He could have just googled immunity from prosecution for sitting heads of states & would've known that Swiss were not going to prosecute Zardari. His orders were unenforceable, and for causing embarrassment to the country & hurting prestige of the court, he should be removed & disbarred.
Re: Swiss authorities refuse to reopen graft cases against President Zardari
Sad part is, instead of disgracing the criminal sitting in the presidency, folks here are mocking the Supreme Court and Chief Justice. Yes, the CJ was misguided in his approach, but it was not wrong to go after the biggest criminal in Pakistan.
Re: Swiss authorities refuse to reopen graft cases against President Zardari
^^^ The legal definition of criminal is someone who has been convicted of a crime. So, how did you come to the conclusion that biggest criminal sitting in the presidency? Has he ever been convicted of a crime?
ISLAMABAD, Feb 4: The guilty verdict handed down to Benazir Bhutto and her husband by the Lahore High Court in 1999 in the SGS/Cotecna reference case was rendered highly suspect by startling disclosures made in a report published by a respected British newspaper on Sunday. Benazir’s appeal against the verdict sentencing her to imprisonment for five years and nearly $10 million fine is coming up for hearing in the Supreme Court on Feb 26, 2001. Justice Malik Qayyum of Lahore High Court had allegedly announced a pre-written judgment in the case, the Sunday Times story revealed quoting tape recorded conversations between the judge and the former Law Minister, Khalid Anwer, the former chief of Accountability Bureau, Saifur Rehman and the former Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Justice Rashid Aziz. The newspaper story has claimed that it had obtained the copy of a letter along with the tapes sent by an officer of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to the President of Pakistan on Jan 29, 2001. The newspaper said that on being approached Justice Qayyum said he could not remember the conversations recorded by the IB. “I don’t recall any such calls,” he said. “I don’t know anything about it.”
A sitting Judge i.e. Malik Muhammad Qayyum [2nd Government of Nawaz Sharif] discussing the “Sentence and Punishment” against Zardari and Benazir Bhutto with Senator Saif ur Rehman [video and transcript] Sawal Yeh hai 19th November 2010 1/4
The case in Switzerland‚ initiated at the behest of the Nawaz Sharif government in 1998‚ centers on the allegation that Zardari and his late wife‚ Benazir Bhutto‚ may have squirreled away $60 million in kickbacks in Swiss bank accounts. In August 2003‚ a Swiss court convicted the first couple‚ in absentia‚ of money laundering. The sentences of six months’ suspended jail time‚ a fine of $100‚000‚ and the order that they return some $2 million to Pakistan’s government‚ were suspended on appeal.
In October 2007‚ in order to woo Bhutto and her Pakistan Peoples Party‚ the then president‚ Pervez Musharraf‚ issued an amnesty law that got rid of the Swiss case. In December 2009‚ the court struck down this National Reconciliation Ordinance‚ and demanded the reopening of all cases against Zardari and the return of $60 million. The court says it is being stonewalled by the government on the issue. Zardari supporters say the president is being persecuted. (It can’t help that Zardari did not want Chaudhry reinstated as the country’s top judge‚ but conceded last minute to popular pressure.)
As head of state‚ the Constitution grants the president immunity from prosecution. Zardari also enjoys “sovereign immunity” under international law and cannot be tried while in office. This is as clear to Aitzaz Ahsan‚ erstwhile friend and colleague of Zardari’s and architect of the popular campaign that got Chaudhry reinstated as chief justice‚ as it is to Daniel Zappelli‚ Switzerland’s prosecutor-general. “We can’t prosecute Mr. Zardari while he has immunity unless Pakistan lifts that immunity‚” he told Reuters in March. “And if he doesn’t have immunity‚ why don’t they try him in Pakistan?”
Re: Swiss authorities refuse to reopen graft cases against President Zardari
See this and Swiss conviction was overturned.
Merey bhai, why do you insist on something that is factually incorrect?
They were NOT declared innocent. They filed an appeal.....and by law, when anyone files an appeal, the judgement from the trial court is suspended while the appeals court goes through the case again. This does NOT mean that the initial judgement was incorrect. It simply means that we are giving you another chance to defend yourself.
But guess what? Benazir and Zardari fled after filing an appeal. They never showed up to defend themselves in the appeals court, thus leaving the case in limbo. And then came the NRO.
