Supreme Court of Pakistan- Approve Swiss Letter Draft for NRO

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan approved the Swiss letter draft submitted by the law minister which states that proceedings in Swiss courts will be conditional to the immunity granted to the president, Express News reported on Wednesday.

The draft also stated that Malik Qayyum’s letter written to the attorney general of Geneva should be retracted.

As per the court’s directives, Law Minister Farooq H Naek submitted a new Swiss letter draft in the Supreme Court in today’s hearing.

The hearing was adjourned till November 15.

The five-member bench — which was hearing the NRO implementation case in court — had retreated to the judges’ chambers to deliberate over the draft submitted after which the judges approved the draft and issued a verdict for sending the letter to Swiss authorities.

In the previous hearing, the bench was convinced of the changes in the first two paragraphs of the revised letter; however, it expressed concern at the last paragraph, saying that it contradicted the first two paragraphs.

The government had also challenged the apex court on the process of drafting and sending the communiqué.

The move came after weeks of extensive consultations on several drafts of the letter, some behind closed doors – and a day before the fourth deadline set by the court for writing to Swiss authorities to seek the revival of graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Last month, after years of sparring, the executive and the judiciary deadlock saw a breakthrough when Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf agreed to write the letter, and assigned the task to Law Minister Farooq H Naek. via: tribune