Pakistan PM Yousuf Raza Gilani to submit reply to re- open graft cases

Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani may submit a detailed reply on today regarding writing to Swiss authorities to re-open graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

As per the Pakistan Supreme Court, Gilani had time till March 20 when it will take a decision on whether or not to go ahead with a case of contempt against him.

On Sunday, Gilani said he was prepared to resign if the issue of approaching Swiss authorities for reopening graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari was resolved by his departure.

"I will be happy if my quitting the post helps solve this issue," Gilani said while interacting with a group of reporters at his residence in Lahore yesterday.

He referred to a "third option" - resigning from the post of Premier - when asked about the Supreme Court's ultimatum to reopen the cases against Zardari or facing imprisonment for committing contempt of court.

"I am ready for the third option if the matter is resolved. But after my going, a new Prime Minister will have to face the same dilemma," he said.

Over the past few days, Gilani has said he will not write a letter to the Swiss authorities to revive the cases against Zardari as the President enjoys immunity from prosecution under the Constitution.

The Premier has also said he would prefer to be jailed for contempt rather than violate the Constitution by acting on the apex court's orders to reopen the graft cases.

The Supreme Court has set March 21 as the deadline for Gilani to approach the Swiss authorities. The apex court will resume hearing a contempt case against the Premier on the same day.

During an interaction with journalists, Gilani said the issue of the President's immunity should be referred to Parliament just like the issue of the appointment of judges.

"I cannot waive the immunity. Even the President cannot do it. The President has absolute immunity even under international laws," he said.

"The Constitution grants immunity to the office of the President, who is part and parcel of Parliament. Therefore, the supreme legislative body is the best forum to deal with issues related to presidential immunity," he said.

Gilani described as wrong the impression that his Pakistan People's Party was behind the case of the funding of politicians by the Inter-Services Intelligence agency that is being heard by the Supreme Court.

"The judiciary has taken up the matter and will take it to its logical end," he said.

The Pakistan Prime Minister also criticised the government's critics, especially the PML-N, for remaining silent on this issue for 16 years.

"Why did they remain silent for 16 or so years. They could have gone to the court to clear their names," he said.

Pakistan Parliament set to take up ties with US

Pakistan's Parliament is set to finally reveal new terms of engagement with the United States next week, almost five months after a cross-border skirmish with NATO forces that left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead and ties at their lowest in years.

The new terms will likely include the re-opening of supply lines to US-led NATO troops in Afghanistan, closed since November 26, but with many new qualifications and restrictions, a prominent opposition lawmaker said on Saturday.

"Broadly, all the parties agree on this," said Ayaz Amir, an opposition member of the National Assembly who sits on its foreign affairs and defence committees. "I don't think anyone is in favour of permanently blocking off NATO routes. There will be riders, qualifications, and the military will have a heavy input in this."

Pakistan has been directly ruled by its military for more than half of its 64-year history and indirectly for much of the rest. It largely controls foreign and security policies, and has taken the lead in relations with the United States.

"All of this, the break in relations, the army viewpoint is colouring Pakistan's response," said Amir, a member of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) faction headed by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

Relations with the United States reached a crisis point after the November incident in which NATO aircraft killed 24 Pakistani troops. Pakistan shut down NATO supply routes into Afghanistan and demanded an apology.

The United States expressed regret for the loss of life and accepted the bulk of the blame, but has not apologised.

Amir spoke a news agency just before Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari was scheduled to address the opening of a joint session of parliament, the fifth time he has done so. That is more than any previous civilian president of the unstable, nuclear-armed South Asian nation.

Zardari could be the first civilian president to serve a full five-year term, having so far weathered numerous political crises and showdowns with both the military and the Supreme Court.

Still, if he addresses US-Pakistan ties at all, he is likely to issue only already widely-accepted recommendations to parliament, given that the national security committee has been working on the new terms for months with heavy input from the military.

The recommendations are almost certain to be accepted by the Parliament when they are finally issued later this week.

"Regardless of the opposition these recommendations face when they are presented before parliament, the government has a majority and will not face difficulties affirming them," Amir said.

"I think it should be done within a week, that's my expectation."

But Zardari is hugely unpopular in Pakistan, accused of corruption and mismanagement, and opposition politicians have pledged a rowdy welcome to Zardari, a Pakistani daily newspaper reported. A symbolic walkout near the end of the speech is expected.

Forced conversion of Hindus in Pakistan jolts US out of slumber

Pakistan's state-endorsed discrimination, and in some cases extermination, of its minorities has finally caught the eye of Washington lawmakers. Coming on the heels of support in Congress for a Baloch homeland in the face of Islamabad's depredations in the region, a US Congressman has zeroed in on the abduction and forced religious conversion of Hindus in the country highlighted by the case of Rinkel Kumari.

In a sharply-worded letter to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, Congressman Brad Sherman urged him to take action to ensure the return of Rinkel Kumari to her family, pursuant to reports that she had been abducted with the help of a Pakistan People's Party (PPP) lawmaker. In a case that has been widely reported in the liberal Pakistani media, Rinkel, who was abducted on February 24, was forced to marry one Naveed Shah and convert to Islam.

She was subsequently produced before a civil judge twice, but she was reportedly coerced into claiming that she had converted on her own will, even as her family was denied access to her in kangaroo court proceedings that revealed in video clips to be led by a frenzied mob of zealots, including armed followers of the Pakistani lawmaker. According to Pakistani civil liberties activists in Washington DC, Rinkel was allegedly threatened while in police custody that if she did not change her statement, she and her family would be killed.

''Rinkel Kumari's case is just one case of abduction and forced religious conversion in Pakistan,'' Congressman Sherman said in the letter to Zardari, citing the Asian Human Rights commission figure of 20-25 kidnappings and forced conversions of Hindu girls in Sindh every month. ''I urge you to take all necessary steps to bring an end to this practice and other harassment of Hindus in Pakistan.''

The Rinkel Kumari case was brought to the attention of US lawmakers not by Hindu activists but by the Sindhi American Political Action Committee (SAPAC), a lobby group that, like the Baloch groups, is increasingly asserting the secular and syncretic identity of Pakistan's Sindhi community in the face of growing Islamization in the country. Sapac activists are telling US lawmakers that state sponsored discrimination against minority groups in Pakistan is rampant and is causing Hindus to migrate out of Pakistan in droves.

Hindus, who constituted more than 15 per cent of Pakistan's population soon after Partition, have now dwindled to less than two per cent, mostly in some districts of Sindh. There have been several reports in recent months of Hindu families seeking to migrate to India in the face of growing radical Islamization of Pakistan, including abduction and forcible conversions, but it is the first time that Washington, which literally slept over Pakistan's genocide of Bengalis in 1970-71, is paying attention to the issue.

US interest in the Rinkel Kumari case comes close on the heels of sudden support in Congress for Baloch self-determination, an effort led by California lawmaker Dana Rohrabacher. That effort has rattled Islamabad to the extent that it has told American interlocutors that Pakistan-US ties will be deeply affected if Washington interfered in Balochistan, even though the Obama administration has clarified that support for an independent Balochistan is confined to the Hill, where lawmakers are free to introduce any legislation they deem appropriate. That in turn resulted in Sherry Rehman, Pakistan's ambassador to the U.S.,, writing to House Speaker John Boehner, expressing deep concern over Congressional action on Balochistan.

Pakistan SC to indict PM Gilani with contempt of court

Pakistan's embattled Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was on today indicated by the Supreme Court for contempt of court over his refusal to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

A seven-member bench of the Supreme Court said that Gilani was given two years to act on its repeated orders to revive cases of alleged money laundering against Zardari in Switzerland but he failed to comply.

All the judges on the bench concurred with the charges and signed the chargesheet. 59-year-old Gilani, who was personally present in the court, was asked whether he understands the charge against him, to which Gilani said, “I have done no wrong.”

Gilani refused to accept the charges and maintained that President Zardari enjoy immunity. Importantly, the Prime Minister was asked to stand on the rostrum as the charges were read out against him.

Meanwhile, the hearing on the contempt case has been adjourned till February 27. PM Gilani has been exempted from appearing in person during the next hearing.

Also, the Attorney General has been asked by the court to submit relevant documents by February 16.

On February 22 and 27, the prosecution and defence would put up evidence.

With Gilani refusing to bow down, the stage is set for a protracted battle in the court. Gilani is the first Prime Minister of Pakistan to have been indicted for contempt of court.

The Prime Minister had, earlier too, appeared in the court when it took up the contempt case on January 19 and said the government could not reopen the cases against the President because he enjoys complete immunity in Pakistan and abroad.

Refusing to buy his arguments, the SC told Gilani that he had no option but to write to Swiss authorities to revive graft cases against Zardari as no one was above the law.

If Gilani is convicted, he could be imprisoned for six months and face possible removal from office after being disqualified from holding public office for five years.

Pakistan's I&B Minister Firdaus Ashiq today backed PM Gilani, saying the Constitution provides immunity to President Zardari.

However, legal experts pointed out that the President had the power to pardon him after his conviction. SM Zafar, a noted lawyer and parliamentarian, said such a presidential pardon would apply only to the punishment handed down by the court while the conviction would remain on record.

Therefore, the premier could be disqualified despite the pardon, he remarked.

The apex court has been pressuring the government to reopen the cases since December 2009, when it struck down the National Reconciliation Ordinance, a graft amnesty issued by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf that benefited Zardari and over 8,000 others.

Pakistan SC begins contempt hearing against PM Gilani

Pakistan’s Supreme Court has begun hearing in contempt of court case against Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday.

Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against its order summoning him for framing contempt charges over his failure to reopen graft cases against the President Asif Ali Zardari.

After the 200-page intra-court appeal was filed by Gilani's lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan seeking suspension of the order summoning him on February 13, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry decided that an eight-judge bench headed by him would take it up on Thursday.

While filing the appeal yesterday, Ahsan had sought an early hearing and suggested that the matter could be taken up on Friday.

The Chief Justice responded that the case could be listed for Thursday as the apex court had a busy schedule on Friday. In the appeal, Ahsan asked the apex court to suspend its decision summoning the Premier.

The appeal asked the court to postpone the indictment, saying the ruling was issued without Gilani being given an opportunity to defend himself directly.

On February 2, a seven-judge bench of the apex court had summoned Gilani to appear on February 13 to be indicted for contempt over his failure to act on its order to pursue corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

The order added to the tensions between the government and the judiciary.

If Gilani is convicted of contempt, he could be jailed for up to six months and disqualified from holding public office for five years.

The appeal pointed out over 50 legal and constitutional points which support the view that the Premier did not go against the Constitution by not reopening the cases against Zardari.

The Supreme Court has been pressuring the government to revive cases of alleged money laundering against Zardari in Switzerland since it struck down a graft amnesty issued by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf in December 2009.

The government has refused to reopen the cases against Zardari, saying the President enjoys complete immunity from prosecution in criminal cases in Pakistan and abroad.

President Zardari enjoys immunity, Gilani tells SC

Amidst tussle with the military, beleaguered Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday arrived in the Supreme Court to respond to a contempt notice issued to him for failing to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Gilani is appearing before a seven-judge bench headed by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk, which summoned him to explain his refusal to write to Switzerland authorities to reopen graft cases against the President.

During the contempt proceedings in the court, the Pakistani PM said the Pakistani Constitution guarantees immunity to Zardari, hence no letter was written to Swiss authorities to revive cases of alleged money laundering against Zardari.

Showing great respect to the judiciary, the Pakistani PM said he cannot even think of committing contempt. I have been to court many times before and have also served a six-year jail sentence earlier, said Gilani during the contempt proceedings in the court.

Gilani's lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan maintained that Zardari enjoyed immunity under Article 248 of the Constitution.

The Cabinet ministers are also present at the apex court to show solidarity with the PM.

Meanwhile, special security arrangements have been put in place in Pakistan's Supreme Court for the PM’s appearance today.

The Supreme Court said it had made special arrangements for security, proper decorum and smooth functioning of the court.

These arrangements include special security cameras that have been installed in court rooms and at entry gates and reception areas and special passes to regulate access to the court complex. Even journalists who regularly cover Supreme Court proceedings will be allowed to enter with passes.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Wednesday reviewed security arrangements on the eve of the Premier's appearance in the court. He chaired a high-level meeting during which he instructed the Islamabad Police chief to stop general traffic in the Red Zone, a high-security area in the heart of the city, from midnight till proceedings are over in the court.

Malik ordered police to maintain three cordons of security around the Supreme Court. The entry will be manned by the Supreme Court Security Police personnel and the outer cordons will be the responsibility of police and paramilitary personnel.

BlackBerry maker refuses to hand Memogate data to Pakistan

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) has said it will not release data regarding a memo that said President Asif Ali Zardari had feared a military coup last year, it was reported here.

Geo News reported that the BlackBerry maker has refused to release data related to the memo that led to the stepping down of the country's US envoy Husain Haqqani and a festering row between the military and the political leadership.

The phone manufacturer, based in Canada, has said that their privacy laws prohibit disclosure of a customer's data to any other party without the consent of the parties concerned, hence Pakistan cannot have the information.

Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz had reportedly forwarded the memo to then US military chief Gen. Mike Mullen in May last year.

RIM said that their response was to a sealed letter from the attorney general of Pakistan, the media report said.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of the Balochistan high court Qazi Faiz Isa Monday resumed hearing of the memo case.

Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq said Monday that the Pakistan High Commission in Britain was instructed to issue Pakistan visa to Mansoor Ijaz as soon as his application is received.

Pakistan crisis: Decisive day for Presiident Zardari, PM Gilani

The political crisis gripping Pakistan could take a decisive turn on Monday when its embattled government appears before the Supreme Court, which is ordering it to reopen a stalled graft probe against the President or face dismissal.

A seven-member bench of the Supreme Court resumed hearing of National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) Implementation case today. However, the proceedings were adjourned till 11:30 am.

The crisis comes at a time of continuing strikes by presumed religious extremists who want to install a hard-line Islamist government in the nuclear-armed nation. On Sunday, a bomb blast in eastern Pakistan killed 14 people in a Shi’ite religious procession.

The court hearing represents one front in what amounts to an assault on the government by the powerful military, opposition politicians and the Supreme Court. The showdown has all but paralysed decision making, and threatens fresh turmoil just as the US wants Islamabad's help in negotiating an end to the war with the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan.

The fault line is the same one that has plagued Pakistan since its creation in 1947: an Army that can't stomach taking orders from elected politicians, and which has three times seized power in coups. President Asif Ali Zardari's government has given the generals control over foreign and security policy, but the civilian leadership and the top brass have never seen eye-to-eye since Zardari took office in 2008.

Tensions spiked last week over an unsigned memo delivered to Washington last year offering the US a raft of favourable security policies in exchange for its help in thwarting a supposed army coup. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani criticised the Army for cooperating with a Supreme Court probe into the affair, and has said the standoff is nothing less than a choice between "democracy and dictatorship”.

Gilani's comments followed a warning from the generals — who were infuriated by the memo — of possible "grievous consequences" ahead.

While the Army appears to have little stomach for a coup, government supporters and many independent analysts say the military could be happy to watch the Supreme Court bring down the government for it. The court is a power centre in its own right in Pakistan, and has legitimized past military takeovers.

Gilani insisted on Sunday the government would see out its term in office, scheduled to end in 2013.

"The Parliament was elected for five years and it should complete its term," he told reporters.

Against this backdrop, the Supreme Court has been pressing for investigations into allegations of corruption against Zardari dating back to before his time in office. He and other leading politicians had been protected by a politically inspired amnesty agreed to in 2008 that the court struck down in 2009, leaving him vulnerable.

The government has so far refused to comply, arguing the President has immunity.

Last week, the court threatened to dismiss Zardari and Gilani if they continue to ignore its demands. It ordered government representatives to appear in court on Monday to explain what they planned to do. A senior member of Zardari's Pakistan People’s Party said this week the government would try to get more time from the court, but it's unclear whether the bench is in a patient mood.

Gilani has called for a "show of confidence" vote in Parliament on Monday to support of the government, which could provide a symbolic boost to the embattled Prime Minister.

The court has zeroed in on one corruption investigation taken up by the Swiss government against Zardari that was halted in 2008 when Pakistani prosecutors, acting on the amnesty, told Swiss authorities to drop the case. The court has now ordered the government to contact Swiss authorities to reopen the probe.

Despite the squeeze by the court and the Army, many Pakistani analysts say that early elections may yet take the steam out of the assault. People’s party members privately say such polls are possible, but not until after March, when Senate elections expected to return the party a majority in the upper house are due.

"Once the early polls are announced everything will calm down," said Fakruddin Ebrahim, a former Supreme Court justice and attorney general.

The government is also under fire as a result of the memo sent to Washington.

A separate Supreme Court commission is investigating the note, which some in the media have dubbed "treasonous”. Pakistan's envoy to America, Husain Haqqani, was alleged to have masterminded the memo. He resigned late last year, seeking to limit its fallout. If the commission states Zardari knew about the memo, it could open up another avenue for his foes to challenge his rule.

Meanwhile, the government is hard pressed to stem a wave of violence by the Taliban and other groups which have carried out hundreds of bombings over the last five years that have killed thousands of Pakistani troops and civilians.

There was no claim of responsibility for Sunday's bombing that killed 14 people during a Shi’ite observance in Punjab province in the east.

Hundreds of Pakistani Shi’ites gathered in the town of Khanpur for a traditional procession to mark the end of 40 days of mourning following the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein, a revered seventh-century figure.

The explosion went off as the mourners left a mosque, said District Police Chief Sohail Chatta. The bomb appeared to have been planted ahead of time in the path of the procession, he said.

The Pakistani Taliban and other Sunni extremist groups have in the past claimed responsibility for the bombings of Shi’ite religious sites and ceremonies. Many Sunni extremists in Pakistan regard Shi’ites as heretics.

Pakistan President Zardari dismissed any confrontation with Army

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, who arrived back here from Dubai early on Friday, has dismissed any suggestions of a confrontation with the country’s powerful Army leadership.

In a statement given to an Indian news channel, Zardari said that his government doesn’t want any confrontation with the Army or the Supreme Court and asserted that ‘matters will be sorted out’.

The embattled President said that his main aim is to bring the country’s economy back on track. On his sudden visit to Dubai, Zardari clarified that his visit was scheduled and strictly personal in nature.

His sudden departure to Dubai, yesterday evening, had led to speculation over whether he would survive heightened tension between his civilian government and the military.

A disputed memo allegedly from Zardari's government seeking US help in reining in the military has soured relations to their lowest point since a coup in 1999.

Military sources say that while they would like Zardari to go, it should be through constitutional means, not another of the coups that have marked half of Pakistan's almost 65 years of independence.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary party of the Pakistan Peoples Party would meet today. The meet is expected to bring more clarity on the situation in the restive country.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raja Gillani has also called a meeting of the Cabinet’s Defence Committee on Saturday, which will be attended by the Army Chief, in a possible sign of efforts to reduce friction.

Yesterday, shortly after Zardari left, Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani met his top commanders fuelling speculation that the Generals, who set security and foreign policies, have lost patience with the government.

However, political analysts say Kayani doesn't want a coup because the Army is fighting Islamist militants, the country is facing economic ruin and seizing power would trigger domestic and international criticism. But they say the Generals may be happy to allow a Supreme Court hostile to the government to dismiss Zardari if it can find a "constitutional" way to do so.

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister fired the Defence Secretary in a rare public display of assertiveness by the civilian government against the Army, as the fallout from the memogate scandal.

The court, regarded as an ally of the army, is investigating that affair and a second one linked to past corruption cases against the President. Both could potentially be used as a pretext to oust the current civilian leadership, which is showing no signs of bending.

Early last month, Zardari had traveled to Dubai for medical treatment, triggering rumours that he was either being pushed out by the powerful Army or was fleeing a potential coup. He returned after a few weeks, but tensions have continued to soar in the country, with critics gleefully predicting the government's imminent downfall.

The crisis is consuming the attentions of the ruling elite in a country that is struggling to overcome economic turmoil and a bloody Al Qaeda-fuelled insurgency.

The Army has ruled Pakistan for much of its six-decade existence, and it still sees itself as the rightful custodian of the country's interests. No civilian Pakistani government has ever completed its term in office.

The Zardari government, which was democratically elected in 2008, is determined to finish its term.

General elections are scheduled for next year, but could well take place sooner.

Reports: Pakistani PM Gilani Yousuf Raza may resign

Signalling a deepening turmoil in Pakistani leadership, reports on Thursday said Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani might resign.

According to reports, the Pakistani government is mulling calling a vote of confidence for President Asif Ali Zardari and PM Gilani.

The Pakistani government might call a joint session of Parliament next week. Gilani may resign after receiving a vote of confidence.

On Tuesday, Zardari said he is ready to give up his post if his Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and coalition partners so desire.

The President has called a special session of the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament on January 12.

The turmoil in Pakistan has deepened with Gilani firing the defence secretary in a dispute over a memo sent to Washington that has enraged the Army, escalating a crisis pitting the civilian government against the powerful military leadership.

The Army warned darkly of "grievous consequences" as a result of the standoff.

The developments were a sign of near-open conflict between the Army, which has often seized power in the country's six-decade history.

The unsigned memo sent to Washington asks for its help in reining in the power of the military in exchange for favourable security policies. It was allegedly masterminded by Pakistan' envoy to Washington, who resigned in a failed attempt to stem the fallout.

Acting under Army pressure, the Supreme Court ordered a probe to establish whether the memo had been sanctioned by Zardari, a prospect that could lead to impeachment hearings. As part of the investigation, Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and the head of the main spy agency, Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha, said in statements submitted to the court that the memo was genuine and part of a conspiracy against the Army.

The Pakistani PM said in an interview to a Chinese newspaper this week that Kayani and Pasha had violated the Constitution by submitting the statements.

The Army denied the men's actions were illegal, and said in a statement that Gilani's allegations had "very serious ramifications with potentially grievous consequences for the country”.

Zardari’s presidential office shifted to Dubai?

Some secretarial staff from the presidency have flown to the United Arab Emirates amid speculation that a presidential camp office was being set up at Pakistan's ailing President Asif Ali Zardari's private residence in Dubai.

This is the second batch of officials from the presidency to go to the UAE since Zardari travelled to Dubai on December 6 to seek treatment for a heart condition.

He is currently recuperating in his residence after being discharged from a Dubai hospital on Wednesday.

There was speculation that a presidential camp office is being set up in the posh area of Jumeirah, where Zardari has his private residence, the Dawn newspaper reported today.

Some officials of the presidency had accompanied the President when he left for Dubai and the second batch left yesterday.

"About 15 employees of the presidency left for Dubai on Thursday and they are in addition to those already accompanying the President," a source told the daily.

The move hinted that Zardari has no plan to return to Pakistan in the coming days, the report said.

Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar confirmed that some staffers of the presidency had left for Dubai yesterday but ruled out the possibility of setting up a presidential camp office in Dubai.

"The President's military secretary, ADC, security personnel and personal physician are in Dubai," he said.

Zardari required the presidency's skeleton staff in Dubai to make arrangements for his meetings there, Dawn quoted an unnamed insider as saying.

He also needed his media team in Dubai to issue official statements and press releases, the insider said.

Legal and constitutional experts said such a camp office could not be set up outside Pakistan at a time when Senate Chairman Farooq Naik had been given the charge of acting President.

"If any camp office is established in Dubai, it would mean that President Zardari is holding his office in the presence of the acting President, which is constitutionally impossible," retired judge Tariq Mehmood said.

The President's role had become almost symbolic after the 18th Amendment and all powers rested with the premier, he said.