Pakistan People's Party (PPP) will hold a crucial meeting with its coalition partners on Sunday (today) night for taking a final decision whether or not Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf should appear before the Supreme Court on August 27 in NRO implementation case, sources told this correspondent on Saturday. According to the sources, the PPP leadership would take its coalition partners into confidence in this regard.
On Friday night, in a meeting of the PPP's Core Committee, top PPP leaders discussed possible repercussions if the Prime Minister did not appear before the court to answer contempt charges. Law Minister Farooq H Naeak and other legal experts had suggested that it was not compulsory for the Prime Minister to appear before the Supreme Court at this stage.
The sources said that the PPP was committed to defend the prime minister through thick and thin, as he was the elected chief executive of the country. However, the sources said that a proposal was also discussed to find a way out about writing a letter to the Swiss authorities if the Apex Court attached a note about the international immunity enjoyed by the president, the sources said.
They said that the final strategy would be evolved after the meeting with leaders of the PPP-ally parties, as the core committee authorised the president to take a final decision in this regard. The Supreme Court of Pakistan had issued a contempt notice on August 8 this year to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf for not implementing its order. In this notice, the Supreme Court asked the Prime Minister to appear in person before a five-judge bench headed by Justice Asif Khosa on August 27 to respond to the notice. Presidential Spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar confirmed that the PPP would hold the meeting with its coalition partners on Sunday.