Pak PM authorizes law minister to write Swiss NRO letter - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Pakistan Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has formally authorised Law Minister Farooq H Naek to write to the Swiss authorities in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case. Ashraf has issued an 'authority letter' to the law minister, directing him to write to the Swiss authorities in accordance with the Supreme Court orders to disown the "illegal letter" written by a former attorney general, reports The Express Tribune. Former Attorney General Malik Muhammad Qayyum had written to the Swiss authorities that the Pakistan government had dropped a dormant graft case against President Asif Ali Zardari following the promulgation of the NRO by the then president Pervez Musharraf in 2007. However, in 2010 the Supreme Court had struck down the controversial law and ordered the government to reopen all cases dropped under the NRO, including the one against Zardari in Swiss courts. According to the guidelines stated by Ashraf, Naek will tell the Swiss authorities that the former attorney general had overstepped his authority and that the incumbent government disowns the letter he had written. The letter calls for finding a legal way that not only assuages the federal government's concerns but also satisfies the apex court, sources said. Sources added that the law minister was finalising the draft of the letter, which would not directly mention the constitutional immunity Zardari enjoys at home. But at the same time, the letter would call for invoking international convention, the paper said. Sources said the letter would be presented before the apex court but not before prior approval from Zardari. If he endorses the move, the draft letter would be presented before the five-judge bench of the court on Tuesday.

Pak PM Ashraf formally authorizes law minister to write Swiss letter in NRO case