SC sets July 25 deadline for PM to write Swiss letter

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has set a deadline of July 25 for Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf to submit a compliance report in National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case.

The Supreme Court Thursday heard the NRO implementation case and ruled that Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf must write the letter to Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

The SC ruling said: "The Prime Minister of Pakistan / Chief Executive of the Federation shall cause a report to be submitted before this Court regarding compliance of the directions (in July 25th hearing)."

If the PM fails to implement the order, the court can take any action against him in accordance with the constitution.

The apex court in its order stated that the new Prime Minister (Raja Pervaiz Ashraf) was also bound to implement the order given to former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who had to face ouster after being disqualified by the Supreme Court on contempt charges.

The Supreme Court had earlier ordered the then prime minister Gilani to implement its verdict without any consultation. When Gilani failed to implement the order he was issued a contempt notice and was then convicted by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court also made note of the Wednesday’s news conference of Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira in which he said that the constitution did not permit the writing of the letter.

Earlier during proceedings Attorney General Irfan Qadir informed the apex court that the federal cabinet would evaluate the matter of implementation after the opinion of the Law Ministry was received. The AG requested the court to adjourn proceedings till after summer vacations.