ISLAMABAD - Attorney General Maulvi Anwar-ul-Haq on Thursday submitted four volumes of documentary evidence before the Supreme Court regarding contempt of court proceedings against Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani for not implementing the apex court judgment on NRO.
The AG has not submitted any list of the witnesses. His stance is that this is civil nature contempt; therefore, there was no need of witnesses.
But former acting Attorney General Shah Khawar and former Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan told The Nation that if they were summoned in the case, they would appear as witnesses.
According to the index, the AGP has filed documentary evidences of 469 pages, containing 43 documents.
All the court orders, passed in the NRO judgment, are also submitted in the documentary evidences. No exclusive document has been submitted.
The first document is an application on behalf of the AGP for permitting him to submit documents in the contempt of court case against PM, while the last document is an affidavit by him (AGP) that gives the assurance that he has submitted all documents pertaining to the case that he could collect so far.
It is to be noted that a seven-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk, will examine the documents submitted by the AGP on February 22nd.
On the other had, Aitzaz Ahsan, the counsel for Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani will submit a list of witnesses along with their statements in the case on February 27th.
The AGP said there was no need to mention or produce witnesses in the apex court, as the evidence itself had the status of witnesses. He also opined that a witness was not usually required when the case is of a civil nature.
The AGP said proceedings regarding the NRO case were civil in nature, but the court had directed him to act as a prosecutor under Order 27, Rule 7, of the Supreme Court Rules, 1980, which was applicable in criminal contempt of court. He explained that under Order 27, Rules 7, the law comes into action when the court or judges are ridiculed or proceedings are blocked intentionally.
The AGP said he would contend on the next date of hearing that such an order regarding him to work, as a Prosecutor General was not applicable.
He said he would express his viewpoint to the court, but he was bound to obey the court’s order.
Gilani is the second Prime Minister of Pakistan, who was formally indicted for contempt of court for ‘wilfully flouting, disregarding and disobeying’ court orders.
Determined to contest the charge, the PM, who had appeared before the seven-judge bench of the Supreme Court on Monday and decided to plead not guilty after Justice Nasirul Mulk, who was heading the bench, had read out the charge.
In case of his conviction, the Prime Minister can be sentenced to six months in jail and five-year disqualification from holding any public office for choosing to plead not guilty.