Pakistan’s beleaguered prime minister on Monday agreed to appear in court to face a contempt notice served on him for failing to re-open corruption cases, including proceedings against the president.
The Supreme Court found Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in contempt and summoned him later this week, escalating pressure on a weakened government at a time of crippling tensions with the army that some analysts believe could cost the prime minister his job and force early elections.
The court wants the government to write to Swiss authorities to demand they re-open corruption cases against Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, including multimillion-dollar money-laundering allegations, after an amnesty expired in late 2009.
COURT ORDERS
Judge Nasir-ul-Mulk on Monday told the Supreme Court, which met to debate how to proceed on graft charges against Zardari, that Gilani had been ordered to appear before it tomorrow.
Gilani agreed to the summons in the National Assembly late on Monday after his ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and its coalition partners passed a resolution expressing full support for democracy and democratic institutions.
“The court has summoned me and I will appear before it as a mark of respect on Jan. 19,” he said in an address televised by Pakistani TV channels. “There can be difference of opinion with the judiciary and the military, but they cannot either pack up or derail the whole system. Rather, they have to strengthen it.”
“We have struggled for democracy,” he said, adding: “We have to strengthen the parliament and democratic institutions.”
WALK-OUT
As the resolution was put to vote, the main opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), walked out of the house, with its leader in the assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali, calling it a “smokescreen.”
After days of high tension between the military and civilian leadership, the resolution said “all the state institutions must strictly function within the limits imposed on them by the Constitution” and Pakistan’s wellbeing should be ensured through democratic institutions.
IMMUNITY
Zardari and the PPP leadership say the president is immune from prosecution as head of state and Maula Bakhsh Chandio, minister for law and parliamentary affairs, said they would take legal advice on how to proceed.
In the past, the PPP has accused the judiciary of overstepping its reach and colluding with the army to bring down the administration before its five-year mandate ends next year.
Last year, a Swiss prosecutor said that it would be “impossible” to reopen a case against Zardari, as he has immunity as head of state.
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