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Pak SC to decide on fate of Zardari, Gilani tomorrow
The fate of Pakistan's embattled leaders, including President Asif Ali Zardari, could be decided on Monday when the Supreme Court takes up the memo scandal and high-profile graft cases even as the beleaguered government has turned to Parliament for crucial support.
The fate of Pakistan's embattled leaders, including President Asif Ali Zardari, could be decided on Monday when the Supreme Court takes up the memo scandal and high-profile graft cases even as the beleaguered government has turned to Parliament for crucial support.
The National Assembly or lower house of parliament is expected to vote on Monday on a resolution that seeks endorsement and support for "efforts made by the political leadership for strengthening democracy" and calls for reposing "full confidence and trust" in them.
Even as parliament considers the resolution, a 17-member bench of the apex court will resume hearing of a case related to the reopening of corruption cases that were closed under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), a graft amnesty issued by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in 2007.
A judicial commission appointed by the apex court to investigate a mysterious memo that sought US help to prevent a feared military coup in Pakistan last year will also continue its proceedings on Monday.
Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, who triggered a storm in the country's political circles by making public the memo, is slated to testify before the commission on Monday though doubts continue to surround his plans to travel to Pakistan.
The Supreme Court had warned last week that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani could be disqualified and that action could also be taken against Zardari if the government kept defying its orders on the NRO issue.
The court had said that Gilani "may not be an honest person on account of his not being honest to the oath of his office". It further warned that the President could face the "same consequences" for violating his oath of office.
