Pak court cites Gilani for contempt of court
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Supreme Court yesterday ordered Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to appear before the court for failing to pursue corruption cases against the president and other officials.
The court threatened the premier with contempt, the latest blow for the administration which also faces pressure from the military over a mysterious memo seeking US help to avert an alleged coup last year.
While Gilani is the one facing a contempt hearing, most observers say the court’s real target is President Asif Ali Zardari.
The court summoned Gilani to appear on January 19.
“In these circumstances, we are left with no option, as a first step, to issue a show cause notice,” the court ruling stated. “The prime minister should appear personally in court on January 19.”
The court has repeatedly ordered the government to ask Swiss authorities to reopen a money laun- dering case against Zardari. But the government says the president has immunity. The cases, which date to the mid-1990s, were closed on the request of Pakistan under a controversial reconciliation order.
During the 1990s, Zardari had multiple cases of corruption and even murder lodged against him, all of which he says are false and politically motivated.
The amnesty deal was nullified in 2009 and the court has been pushing for the government to re-open and investigate the cases against Zardari. The government refuses to do so saying Zardari enjoys immunity as the head of state.
While Gilani is not considered in immediate danger and the case is expected to be drawn out, he may have to step down if he is held in contempt of court. “We respect the court and its verdict,” said Farhatullah Babar, the presidential spokesman. “An appropriate response will be formulated in light of consulta- tion with our legal brains.”
Gilani would likely appear before the court and then the attorneygeneral would request that he not appear regularly, which the court would likely agree to, former law minister Khalid Anwar said.
Any contempt charges would be strongly fought by the government, dragging proceedings out, he said.
“It’s a lengthy process,” he said. But, he added, “if he is convicted, he would be disqualified from being a member of the parliament,” meaning he would no longer be eligible to be a prime minister.
The tussle with the judiciary is just one battle the government faces. It is separately embroiled in a dispute with the military over an unsigned memo last year.
The memo, allegedly drafted on the direction of former ambassador to Washington Husain Haqqani, asked for US help in reining in the army, which the memo said was planning a coup. — Agencies