Chandio denies he has resigned as law minister

ISLAMABAD: The mystery surrounding the resignation of Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Maula Buksh Chandio, has deepened as the leader of the House, Syed Nayyer Hussain Bukhari, announced during the Senate session that Chandio had resigned from the cabinet while Chandio himself denied this after the session.

Nayyer Bukhari asked for the deferment of the bill for the 20th Amendment in the Constitution on the ground that Maula Buksh Chandio had informed him that he had resigned as the law minister. Interestingly, Chandio was seated beside him and nodded when Bokhari declared that he had resigned. However, after the session, Chandio denied that he had resigned. “No one sought my resignation nor have I tendered it,” he told the media outside the Parliament House.

Reports of his resignation came when Senator Babar Awan met President Asif Ali Zardari at the Presidency in the company of Chandio after the Supreme Court suspended Babar’s legal be appointed minister for law, justice and parliamentary affairs.

According to sources, the decision to appoint Babar Awan as law minister was later dropped on the legal advice that it would not be appropriate to do so at this particular juncture. “It would have conveyed a wrong message to the apex court which has suspended his licence earlier in the day,” sources privy to the consultations said. They said this would have created misunderstanding ahead of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani’s appearance in the court on January 19.

It may be pertinent to mention here that Babar Awan’s younger brother is advisor to PM on law and justice while the secretary of the law ministry also happens to be his close aide.

Sources said a few days ago, ANP chief Asfandyar Wali had advised President Asif Ali Zardari not to consult Babar Awan for legal advice. He said this in the presence of Babar Awan, sources claim. It is also said that senior PPP leaders have also urged President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani time and again not to rely on Babar’s legal advice, but to no avail.

Sources also told The News that in the recent meeting of the coalition partners, Babar Awan was not allowed to give a briefing on legal matters relating to the Supreme Court decision.

The 20th amendment, which the government wanted to introduce in the Senate but which was deferred, aims to give legal cover to 29 bye-elections that were held after the general elections of February 2008. The amendment had been prepared in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court after the formation of Election Commission and appointment of members of the Commission.