By M Akram Sheikh
While no one knows the exact answers to the above questions, the following may help unravel the mystery surrounding the president’s inaction on the matter. In February 2008, as head of a party that was positioned to win the coming elections on the huge sympathy wave that was generated by the tragic assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Mr Zardari found in his lap two vital gifts, both courtesy of General Musharraf. One was the NRO and the second were the insecure PCO judges who were keen to do anything to continue in their position.
In February, immediately after the 40th day of Benazir’s death, Mr Zardari set about using the above two opportunities for his maximum advantage. What people do not know is that while the NRO gave him and his friends the opportunity to have all corruption cases being pursued against him withdrawn, the insecurity of the PCO judges meant that this could be used to have even criminal cases against him withdrawn – even those that had no link with the NRO.
Right after the election, Mr Zardari went to Raiwind and made a commitment to restore Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other honourable judges who had refused to take oath. This was followed by a number of meetings and accords between him and Mr Sharif, in Murree, then Dubai, then Islamabad, the commitments even becoming part of two formal agreements.
Throughout that time, many in the country was perplexed as to why Mr Zardari was taking his party and his government into a political cul-de-sac. By doing this, he also ensured that his party not only stood on the wrong side of the most popular public demand, and that too for no substantive reason and after having made a commitment to the contrary. The result was a blow to the PPP’s popularity and credibility. Eventually, though, the party had to give in to the sheer will of the people and restore the chief justice and other judges.
Why did the president act this way, with regard to the restoration issue? Three days before the elections, on Feb 15, 2008, Asif Zardari had already placed all his bets with the PCO judges, expecting them to deliver on all his demands if they wanted to remain in their jobs. His subsequent meetings with Nawaz Sharif and agreements and oral commitments were just a way to kick Dogar and other PCO judges to complete their assigned job at the earliest. On Feb 15, 2008, just after 40th day of Benazir’s murder and three days before elections that Mr Zardari filed a constitutional petition (D-265/2008) in the Sindh High Court seeking a direction to the federal government and to NAB to withdraw all proceedings against him that they might still be pursuing in UK and Geneva courts as well as before the courts in Pakistan. The cases included the SGS reference, ARY gold reference, BMW car reference, the Cotecna reference, the Ursus tractor reference and the Polo Ground reference. Also, Zardari retained Malik Qayyum as attorney-general. It was thus that whenever that petition was fixed and Zardari’s withdrawal applications under the NRO were fixed before any court, both counsels, one representing the accused and the other representing the state of Pakistan were taking instructions from the same person.
Justice Dogar, then acting as Chief Justice of Pakistan, too was not found missing in his keenness to help Zardari get quick acquittals. It was thus on Feb 27, 2008, while hearing Constitution Petitions 76 and 77 of 2007 (petitions that actually challenged the validity of the NRO), that a five member bench of PCO judges – Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Muhmmad Nawaz Abbasi, Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, Justice Ejaz-ul-Hassan, Justice Ch Ejaz Yousaf — issued the following directions to all subordinate courts: “… The Courts and authorities concerned shall proceed further expeditiously in the light of the provisions of the Ordinance without being influenced by the pendency of these petitions:”
Acting on the above direction, and realizing that the fate of all PCO judges now lay in the hands of one man, the Sindh High Court, took it upon itself to supervise the earliest withdrawal of all corruption cases against Zardari. It was thus two PCO judges, Khawaja Naveed and Ali Sain Dino Metlo, while hearing Asif Zardari’s Constitutional Petition (D-265/2008), in compliance of the above Supreme Court order, directed NAB and Government to file a report in Court confirming that they had withdrawn all corruption cases against Zardari, including confirmation that they had ceased all kinds of cooperation with all foreign prosecuting authorities against Asif Zardari on the basis of above mentioned SC order.
The Sindh High Court Petition was fixed again and again, with counsels from both sides insisting earliest withdrawal of cases. It was finally on 17 September 2008, that the counsels representing NAB and the Federal Government, now under the virtual and legal control of President Zardari, through Deputy Attorney General Amir Raza Naqvi and NAB counsel Salman Aslam Butt confirmed the compliance report before the same two member bench of Sindh High Court consisting of the same judges who had directed withdrawals, i.e. Khawaja Naveed and Ali Sain Dino Metlo.
As for the proceedings in Swiss courts, the Deputy Attorney General, on behalf of the federal government, produced a copy of the letter regarding the termination of the proceedings before the Swiss court and informed the court that all proceedings against the petitioner had been withdrawn. It was thus that Investigating Magistrate, Geneva, was forced to drop proceedings against Zardari regarding criminal conspiracy to defraud Pakistan for his personal financial interest.
As for UK case relating to the infamous Surrey Palace, DAG confirmed that all the proceedings against Zardari before the High Court of Justice Queen’s Bench Division, Commercial Court London, regarding the sale of Rockwood Estate in Surrey (UK) had also been terminated.
Lastly, with regard to NAB references, the DAG confirmed that all seven NAB references against Zardari - Asset Reference, SGS Reference, ARY Gold Reference, BMW Reference, Cotecna Reference, Ursus Tractor Reference, Polo Ground Reference – that were pending against the petitioner before the Accountability Courts in Rawalpindi had been withdrawn by the government.
After the above DAG’s statement, the petitioner’s counsel Abu Bakar Zardari and Hyder Ali did not press their petition and Honourable Justices Khawaja Naveed and Ali Sain Dino Metlo disposed off the petition through the following order: (Order sheet C P D-265 of 2008) Sept 16 — “… The learned DAG states that on the request of the Government of Pakistan criminal proceedings pending against the petitioner in Swiss Court have been closed and the civil proceedings pending against him in the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, Commercial Court, London, United Kingdom, have terminated. In view of the statement made by the learned DAG, learned counsel for the petitioner does not press the petition. Accordingly, the petition along with the listed applications is disposed of as not pressed.”
(To be continued)
The writer is an advocate of the Supreme Court. Email: akramsheikh @asla.pk