Future of country lies in strong democracy: Ashraf

Islamabad: On the eve of Pakistan’s independence anniversary being observed under the shadow of an ominous government-judiciary tussle, Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said on Monday that the future of the country lies in a strong democracy.

Democracy is the only binding force and time-tested system that keeps the aspirations of the people supreme, he said in an address at a seminar on ‘Pakistan : My identity’ ahead of the 65th Independence Day on Tuesday.

The country cannot be governed through dictatorship, he said adding that it is moral obligation of every Pakistan to protect the country’s democratic future.

The tussle between the government and the Supreme Court over the issue of writing a letter to Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against President Aif Ali Zardari is widely seen fomenting political uncertainty and raising apprehensions of derailment of the fragile democracy order.

In June the top court ousted then prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani from office weeks after convicting him on contempt charges over his refusal to write the letter to the Swiss on the ground that the country’s constitution gives complete immunity to head of state. Ashraf was elected prime minister, filling the void.

The Supreme Court on August 3 scrapped as unconstitutional a new contempt law enacted by the government through the parliament to provide immunity to prime minister and other public office holders against contempt proceedings.

The verdict angered the PPP and its allies, who accused the judiciary of overstepping its constitutional role and undermining the parliament’s legislative authority and supremacy. The judges hold that constitution is supreme and it empowers the judiciary to strike down any law in conflict with constitutional provisions.

The court has issued a show-cause notice to Ashraf and summoned him to appear before it on August 27 to explain why he may not be charged with contempt. Before that on August 15, a five-judge bench is to hear a government petition seeking review of the court’s July 12 order to Ashraf to write the Swiss letter.

The other day, Gilani spoke aggressively against the court’s show-cause notice to his successor, warning that the ruling party would “resist” if the court tried to send Ashraf home.

Speaking to reporters in his hometown, Multan in the Punjab province, Gilani said he had accepted the disqualification verdict against him without resistance because he wanted to be remembered in history as a prime minister who did not allow any undemocratic force to take advantage of the situation.

If a second prime minister was targeted, the masses “will not accept it and we will resist instead of take the decision lying down,” Gilani said, according to news reports.

Any move to remove Ashraf, he said, would be tantamount to destabilizing the country and “the judiciary alone will be responsible (for consequences),” the former prime minister said, adding that “the third force” was always looking for a chance to wind up the system.

Also on Monday, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira told a seminar in Islamabad that political forces must strengthen the democratic system in the country collectively.

Attorney General Irfan Qadir, speaking to reporters in Lahore, said the judiciary should create a congenial atmosphere to reduce confrontation between state institutions.

Qadir said prime minister is not answerable to anyone except the parliament and that the office of the chief executive of the country mus get due respect from all including the judiciary.

To a question‚ Attorney General said he will submit arguments in NRO implementation case in accordance with the Constitution.