Amended Swiss letter draft submitted to Pakistani court

The Pakistani government Wednesday submitted to the Supreme Court the amended draft of a letter that has to be sent to Swiss authorities to reopen corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Federal Law Minister Farooq H. Naek Wednesday submitted the amended Swiss letter draft after the apex court Tuesday gave him a day's time to carry out changes in the letter that the government had submitted, Geo News reported.

A five-member bench of the apex court heard the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) Implementation case.  On Wednesday, Naek pleaded that he may be heard in the chamber for resolving the issue, but the court rejected his plea.

"Justice Asif Saeed Khosa in his remarks said it would not be possible for us to hear you in the Chamber for discussing coma, full stop," the media report said.

On Sep 18, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf Tuesday told the Supreme Court that the government has decided to withdraw a letter sent out during Pervez Musharraf's tenure to close graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Accused of graft, Zardari was granted amnesty under the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in 2007 by then president Pervez Musharraf to facilitate his return home from exile, and primarily that of his wife, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Zardari and Bhutto were suspected of using Swiss accounts to launder about $12 million in alleged bribes paid by companies seeking customs inspection contracts in the 1990s.

The NRO that granted immunity to politicians and bureaucrats in corruption cases was struck down by the Supreme Court as void in 2009. The apex court in January ordered Gilani to write a letter to the Swiss authorities to reopen cases against Zardari.

Gilani was convicted April 26 of contempt of court, and was disqualified as prime minister as well as parliament member June 19.