Pakistan: AG wants court to avert clash between state institutions

Attorney General Irfan Qadir on Monday said that the judiciary should treat the office of the country’s prime minister with respect and sanctity, DawnNews reported. Speaking to media representatives during a visit to the Lahore Bar Association, Qadir said that under the Constitution, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf was the head of the government and not answerable before any court of law. He added that the court should respect the office of the premier. Former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had respected the courts and the courts should had treated him similarly, the attorney general said. Qadir moreover said that the court should create an environment which does not lead to a clash between the state’s institutions. The attorney general’s remarks come in the wake of the show-cause notice issued to Prime Minister Ashraf for not implementing the NRO judgment and the federal government’s filing of review petitions challenging the scrapping of Contempt of Court Act (COCA) 2012 and asking the premier to implement the NRO verdict. The review petition challenging the court’s July 12 order asking Prime Minister Ashraf to comply with the NRO judgment would be taken up on Aug 15 by a five-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa.