Zardari, Chaudhry on collision course again

By AZHAR MASOOD | ARAB NEWS

ISLAMABAD: Relation between Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari and Chief Justice Iftkhar Chaudhry is at its lowest ebb, sources said.

They are heading for a showdown once again, this time on the issue of extension in service of prosecutor general of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

A three-member Supreme Court bench on Sept. 1 termed the appointment of the acting Chairman NAB Javed Qazi and Prosecutor General Irfan Qadir as "illegal and unlawful," and declared the services of Qadir null and void on the grounds that his three-year contract had expired.

The court also ruled that any extension in service would be against the rules and asked the government to appoint a new prosecutor general in consultation with the Law Ministry.

However, the government apparently has had a change of heart on the issue in the subsequent days and appears inclined to challenge the court verdict. Qadir in a statement said that Zardari has directed him to continue with the job till further orders.

"The president is my appointing authority and only he can de-notify the contract," Qadir said.

Zardari's official spokesman Farhatullah Babar, when contacted, denied any knowledge about such a notification. The law ministry, on the other hand, has said that Qadir has been asked to vacate the office.

The decision to retain Qadir has outraged both opposition parties as well as leading jurists who are viewing this as another attempt by the government to challenge the authority of the apex court.

The government, led by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), has repeatedly faced accusations of not implementing Supreme Court orders in letter and spirit.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief and a fierce Zardari critic, said the government was on collision course with the Supreme Court again and did not want the rule of law.

"If President Zardari continues to take such illogical decisions, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani must intervene to save the system and ensure implementation of court orders," Sharif suggested.

Former chief justice of Sindh High Court, Justice (retd.) Wajihuddin Ahmad termed the decision of the presidency as another attempt to undermine the apex court. "There is no hindrance in the implementation of the SC (Supreme Court) decision," he stressed, adding that the court must proceed against Qadir on charges of contempt of court.

The critics of the government have been accusing the president on several occasions of trying to appoint and protect his alleged cronies in key positions to safeguard his own interests. They view it as an attempt to keep the corruption cases against Zardari in close wraps.

The NAB, being the accountability arm of the government, has particularly been made docile by appointing close aides of the president and the rulers, and bringing it under the umbrella of the Law Ministry with Babar Awan, legal brain in Zardari's kitchen Cabinet, as its minister in-charge.

— With input from agencies

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When the criminals and the notorious people of the country become the ruler of the country then the country certainly turns into the hell to live in. But at the same time the leader of the nation is also the representative of the nation which means that the majority is like him. Therefore it is an alarming situation for all us to think if we, as a nation, also like our rulers. If yes then there should be no hue and cry at all. And if not then we must come out of our houses and show the power of the people (as happened in Kirghizstan) and throw the notorious rulers away, get them arrested for accountability and give the charge of the country to the sincere and honest people. Yes sincere and honest people still exist even today but the only thing which is required to identify those people is the sincere and honest EYE. Decision is yours. May Allah guide us choose the right rulers for our country. Amen.

ISMAEEL MARIKAR

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THE BHUTTOS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PAKISTANI PROBLEMS ZARDARI IS RULING TILL THE "LITTLE BHUTTO" GROWS UP.. BENAZIR DID A DIRTY DEAL WITH MUSHARRAF TO COME TO POWER AND BENAZIR PAID FOR IT WITH HER LIFE. SHE WAS KILLED BY MUSHARRAF AND WHO IS NOW LIVING IN HIS SAFE HAVEN IN BRITAIN, NO LONGER GREAT, FOR THE SERVICES HE RENDERED FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF AFGHANISTAN. NOW WHATS HAPPENING IN PAKISTAN IS THE WRATH OF ALLAH FOR ALL THE WRONG THEY DID IN THE GUISE OF AN ISLAMIC STATE.
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