Pak PM Ashraf may be headed the Gilani way: Daily

Islamabad: Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf may also be ousted like his predecessor Yousuf Raza Gilani as the government still seems unwilling to write to the Swiss authorities to reopen corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, the Dawn reported today. Ashraf appeared before the Supreme Court on 27 August and assured a five-judge bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa that he would come up with an amicable solution in his next appearance on 18 September. [caption id=“attachment_450192” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Pakistani PM Raja Pervez Ashraf. PTI[/caption] However, a source told the daily that a proposal by certain officials in the federal government to write the letter in a way that did not hurt the government has been scrapped. The final nod on the proposal had to be given by the president but Zardari shot down the proposal before leaving for Iran to attend the NAM summit. When Ashraf appears before the court, he is likely to present a summary saying he had not come alone but the entire cabinet was with him in endorsing the view that the letter should not be written. The daily said the decision so taken has vindicated the stand put by leaders close to Gilani who pressurised the government to stick to its stance of not writing the letter, come what may. Gilani was sent packing on 19 June after being disqualified as a parliamentarian by the Supreme Court for not honouring its order to write the letter. Adviser to prime minister on political affairs Fawad Chaudhry said that for the time being, the government would continue to stick to the same line taken by Gilani. “We respect the judiciary but at the same time we have to adhere to the Constitution that bars us from exposing the president to a foreign judicial system,” he said. IANS