Islamabad: Referring to the ongoing tussle between the Pakistan government and the judiciary, regarding the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case, which includes the writing of the letter to Swiss authorities, an editorial in a Pakistani daily has said, it would make the country a laughing stock before the world due to the farcical nature of the entire situation.
Pakistan seems to have become caught up again in the same tangled web, which had ensnared the last premier Yousuf Raza Gilani and brought him down, the editorial in The Express Tribune said.
The situation seems to be going round and round on a circular route, with no means to escape, it added.
Is Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf now headed for a similar fate? - the editorial questioned.
In the latest chapter of the NRO saga, the government wrote to the Supreme Court stating that it was unable to write the letter to Swiss authorities, as this would be a violation of the Constitution, which grants immunity to the president of the country, it said.
The reply to the Supreme Court emphasises the fact that the government is responsible for safeguarding the Constitution and if it has to write the letter seeking the reopening of cases, it would require the consent of the whole cabinet as the letter cannot be written by the prime minister acting on his own, it further said.
This response was placed before the Supreme Court one day before Ashraf was to appear before it. The line taken by the government`s legal team on the matter does not, however, appear to have impressed the Court. The Court has rejected the reply and suggested that a review petition may have been a more appropriate way to respond. It also stated that immunity for the president under the Constitution exists only as far as official acts are concerned, the editorial added.
The apex court has given the prime minister until August 8 to write the letter to be dispatched to Geneva. The general public can for now only wonder how things will evolve or what the final outcome will be, it concluded.
ANI
