Gilani's speech in NA

Prime Minister Gilani has decided to appear before the Supreme Court in response to the contempt of court notice, albeit more as a gesture of condescension than his obligation under the law. That he may not be offering an apology for his consistent refusal to implement the court's order to write a letter to the Swiss court to reopen the money laundering cases against the PPP top leadership he made sufficiently clear in his speech from the floor of the National Assembly on Monday. He told the House that his presence before the apex court should be seen as his show of 'respect' for the court. If he will go beyond that act of appearance and agree to write that letter he made no such promise, and going by the wording of his speech it is difficult to truly appreciate his range of perceptions, thoughts or actions. Gilani was of the view that he would be running afoul of the Constitution by writing the letter, as Article 248 grants President Zardari immunity so long as he is in office. Of course, in this the prime minister is at clear variance with expert legal opinion, some of it offered by his own party members. But where he appeared to be highly ensconced himself with a greater degree of integrity was his position that he could not betray his party. Placing himself in the category of the "rare species" that remain loyal to their parties "in these days" he wanted to be "protected" and preserved by the fellow parliamentarians. The truth, however, is that President Zardari's remarks in a recent TV interview that writing the letter to the Swiss courts would amount to 'trying the grave of Benazir Bhutto' has become a cross that a PPP leader would carry at great risk. No wonder there was an air of finality to the prime minister's speech; earlier during the day in his meeting with coalition parties' heads, he had reportedly identified himself with Colonel von Ryan, a Hollywood movie hero, who gave his life to secure the life of his colleagues. That the ruling coalition members played into the Prime Minister's hands is quite enigmatic, if not disappointing. For a good four days the National Assembly was engaged in a kind of shadow play, with treasury and opposition, at times in a jarring discord while sometimes in harmony, trying to hammer out a joint resolution to establish what was never in doubt - that democracy is Pakistan's only future. Though the end product was a damp squid as it could be, but what it left out - the PML-N's input that it should - the 'decisions of the superior judiciary that should be implemented' was not made a part of the ANP-initiated resolution, precipitating the opposition's walkout. The coalition parties and JUI-F supported the resolution and the opposition boycotted it, which is an everyday affair in a parliament. If there is any message that the resolution as passed transmits; it is that the ruling coalition will accept only that interpretation of the Constitution by the Supreme Court, which is in harmony with the majority view in parliament. The evolving political scenario is not as grave and grim as Prime Minister Gilani tried to project. Yes, there may be a threat to his own position, given his cavalier approach to the Supreme Court's verdict on the NRO, which seems to have put him in a quandary over what to do now; otherwise, it's a simple issue of implementation of a verdict of the Supreme Court. That a person far more experienced - the chairman NAB, Admiral Fasih Bukhari (Retd) - than the prime minister himself didn't take more than a day to realise his mistake - engineered more by his advisors than his own failing - and started implementing the apex court's order should show a mirror to others, who are still in a state of denial. Given that the NRO case has acquired a make or break importance, the Gilani's stand before the Supreme Court on January 19 would greatly impact not only politics but even the future of democracy in Pakistan. And that we expect a seemingly defiant prime minister, accompanied by an astute legal mind in the shape of Aitzaz Ahsan, would bear in mind when he appears before the Supreme Court. Copyright Business Recorder, 2012