Pakistan PM arrives at Supreme Court

AL Jazeera English Central & South Asia
Yousuf Raza Gilani faces contempt of court proceedings that could see him convicted and disqualified from office.    Last Modified: 19 Jan 2012 04:49
Yousuf Raza Gilani, Pakistan's prime minister, has arrived at the country's Supreme Court to face contempt of court proceedings. Gilani entered the court building under tight security in the heavily protected constitutional sector of Islamabad on Thursday morning. The case has plunged Gilani's government deeper into a crisis that could force early elections within months. Pakistan's highest court summoned Gilani to explain his refusal to ask Switzerland to re-open graft cases against Asif Ali Zardari, the president. PAKISTAN'S CRISIS Memogate: Pakistan's evolving politics Memogate: Timeline Key players What happens next Pakistan: facing a coup? PM says Democracy at stake The government is also under immense pressure from the army and judiciary over an unsigned memo asking the US to prevent a feared coup last May. "The judiciary has played a significant role in asserting the rule of law," Akbar Ahmed, from the American University, told Al Jazeera. "Here we are seeing a tussle, with the army waiting in the wings, the public not quite ready to welcome them, and the judiciary asserting itself." "For the people of Pakistan, change is long overdue," he said. Officials have been tight-lipped on what the prime minister and his lawyer will say. His lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, has said Gilani may as well do what the court wants and write to Switzerland because Zardari has immunity from prosecution as long as he remains in office. Ahsan is a senior leader in Zardari's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and was at the vanguard of a lawyers' movement that forced the government to reinstate independent judges in March 2009. Supreme Court judges have six options on how to proceed which include finding Gilani in contempt, disqualifying the prime minister and president, and holding early elections. Analysts say Gilani has to either resign or find a way of satisfying the court order if he wants to keep his job. Some have suggested that the PPP could sacrifice Gilani to protect the president, who has been accused over the controversial memo that sought US assistance to curb the powerful military. His ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani, was forced to resign and a judicial inquiry is examining who was responsible for the note.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
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