ISLAMABAD – After the Supreme Court dropped the contempt charges against the prime minister in the NRO implementation case, a relieved Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Wednesday exhorted all the state institutions to work in unison both for continuity of the system and strengthening of the democratic order in the country.
The call from the premier came during his meeting with Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Farooq H Naek, who apprised the former about the court's proceedings in the NRO implementation case.
The law minister told Raja Ashraf that the court had withdrawn the contempt notice against him on the acknowledgement of the receipt of a letter (to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari) by the Swiss authorities.
The prime minister termed the court’s decision a ‘victory of justice’.
He also praised the services of Farooq Naek and his team for bringing in a successful closure to the longstanding issue to the satisfaction of all concerned.
Appreciating the deft handling of the case by the law minister, his professional acumen and competence, Raja Ashraf asserted that the closure of the NRO implementation case had silenced those who had long been propagating the clash of institutions.
The closure of the case will remove the air of uncertainty and help create conducive atmosphere during the transition and will facilitate a smooth transfer of power, through fair and transparent elections, he observed.The prime minister also expressed his government’s commitment to abide by the decisions of the judiciary in letter and spirit.
He expressed the confidence that all the state organs would work harmoniously to ensure continuity of the system and strengthening of the democratic process in the country.
Earlier, Law Minister Farooq H Naek, while talking to the media after the court proceedings, remarked that “justice, democracy, law and the Constitution have emerged victorious today”. He claimed that they did carry out every order of the court because they wanted to see democracy on track.
Naek, to a question, said the prime minister had given the approval to the draft letter that was dispatched to the attorney general of Switzerland through Pakistan’s ambassador in Geneva. “The letter was received by the Swiss official on November 3,” he said, adding that the documents received from him in acknowledgement of the receipt of the letter were produced in the court during Wednesday's proceedings, following which the contempt charges against the prime minister were dropped “on our request”.
"We have implemented the first paragraph of the court’s order,” Naek affirmed, and said, “We don't want any confrontation with any institution. And we don't want democracy to be derailed."
"Today is the day of the victory of democracy, for which Benazir Bhutto rendered her life and President Asif Ali Zardari languished in jails for many years," the former Senate chairman averred in his concluding remarks.