ISLAMABAD, Jan 19: Attired in a dark blue suit, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani drove a white SUV with his counsel Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan by his side on Thursday and told the Supreme Court respectfully that he had no intention of defaming or ridiculing the judiciary. But, he said, he believed that the Constitution provided a blanket protection to President Asif Ali Zardari.

“I have no intention to, God forbid, defame or ridicule the superior judiciary. That is not my intention. We have the highest respect for your decision (NRO verdict), but at the same time, the Constitution is in between,” said a confident Prime Minister Gilani who is facing contempt charges for not writing a letter to Swiss authorities for reopening graft cases also involving President Zardari.

Threatened by a number of challenges on different fronts and facing allegations of adopting a defiant confrontational posture, the prime minister’s appearance and the sober proceedings that followed in the courtroom helped lower the overall political temperature in the country.

Contrary to predictions made over the past few days that Thursday would be a day of reckoning for the prime minister and his government, the focus of the court appeared to have shifted from the contempt charges to the president’s immunity.

Now the hearing, according to some legal observers, will soon become ‘business as usual’ and determination on the question of immunity with all its interpretations will take quite some time.

For the last two years since the Supreme Court had declared the controversial NRO illegal and then dismissed a review petition, it has been asking for reopening corruption cases but the government’s mysterious inaction forced it to issue show-cause notice to the prime minister on contempt of court.

When provided an opportunity to speak, Prime Minister Gilani opened his statement before a seven-judge SC bench by citing PPP founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s famous words in the Saraiki language and said this would help in understanding Mr Bhutto’s mental anguish when he was facing murder trial. “Dukhaan di mari jindri aleel hai,” said the prime minister who came to the court along with a number of senior government functionaries and cabinet members.

Mr Gilani, who accompanied by coalition partners including PML-Q president Chaudhry Shujaat and ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, remained seated in the courtroom No 4 after completing his statement and watched his counsel explaining the perceived defiance on the part of the government for not implementing the NRO verdict and also the government’s reluctance over the past two years to present its point of view in a proper and coherent manner.

After hearing the stance of Mr Gilani and his counsel, the court exempted the prime minister from personal appearance in future. But it made known its intention in unequivocal terms to hear Barrister Ahsan at the next proceedings on Feb 1 on Article 248 of the Constitution which provides immunity to the president.

“On the next date, let’s hear you convince us on the issue of the president’s immunity,” Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany said.
“Let’s grab the bull by the horns.”

To test the bona fide3 of the prime minister the court needed to interpret Article 248 of the constitution, Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said.

The bench said if convinced it would discharge the notice against the prime minister.

“The court intends to interpret the immunity question for all times to come through an authoritative judgment and I believe the court may dilute the protection available to the government functionaries,” Advocate Muhammad Ikram Chaudhry said after the proceedings.

The court praised prime minister’s appearance and Justice Khosa termed the event a great day for the country and the nation as the chief executive had shown great respect and bowed before the majesty of the law.

In return, the prime minister assured the court that he would appear before the court whenever asked for. “I am here,” the prime minister explained, because it was his duty as he had been summoned. And pointing to his coalition partners and party colleagues, he said they were here to show their respect and highest regard for the court.

The prime minister said he had been representing the people in different capacities since 1983. He said former premier Zulfikar Bhutto, President Zardari, late Nusrat Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto and he himself had been appearing before the court, but no judge had ever complained about “our behaviour or disrespect towards the court”.

Historians would tell the difference between his appearance before the court and that of his predecessor, he said, adding that heads of state, prime ministers and foreign ministers all over the world enjoyed immunity under constitution.

“I have been advised and it is my conviction that the president has complete immunity inside and outside the country,” Mr Gilani said, adding that there was no doubt about that.

“We have great respect for the prime minister, but someone should have explained earlier during the last two years about the difficulty the government had in implementing the NRO verdict,” Justice Khosa observed.

Aitzaz Ahsan tried to explain that the present case was preliminary proceedings and sort of a trial where the court would have to determine about criminal intent of the prime minister. “This has nothing to do with the implementation of the NRO judgment.” He regretted that the patience of the court was taxed to an extent that the prime minister himself had to come.

The only way out for the purpose of implementing court’s judgment was to issue a contempt notice, Justice Nasirul Mulk observed.

“Perhaps contempt is not an appropriate weapon for implementing court’s orders,” Barrister Ahsan said.

“Perhaps you suggest the mode,” Justice Nasirul Mulk said again.

When the court specifically asked the counsel whether the government intended to write the letter, he said: “The letter shall be written when Asif Ali Zardari is no longer the president.”

Meanwhile, NAB Chairman Admiral (retd) Fasih Bokhari submitted a written apology before the court, along with an update about the number of cases reopened by the bureau.