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Pakistani PM says will appear in court in contempt case

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, Feb 2, IRNA -- Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani announced in the parliament on Thursday that he would appear before the Supreme Court in a contempt proceedings on February 13.

The apex Court on Thursday ordered that formal charges will be framed against the Prime Minister for not sending letter to the Swiss authorities to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Gilani, who appeared in the apex court last month on the contempt of court notice, will now face indictment on February 13.

'I had appeared in the Supreme Court earlier and will appear again,' Prime Minister Gilani told the National Assembly, lower of the parliament.

'I respect the courts and to show respect I will appear in the court,' he said.

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, who defends the prime minister in the Supreme Court, said that he would advise his client to file a review appeal against the court's order.

The court had, last month, initiated the hearing over Gilani's refusal to ask Swiss officials to reopen a corruption case against Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.

Legal experts say that if found guilty of contempt, he could be banned from holding public office. The court can jail any person for six months if found guilty of contempt of court, experts say. The apex court also recommend to the Speaker of National Assembly to send a reference to the Election Commission to de-seat the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Gilani appeared in the Supreme Court on January 19 and in his statement he defended his decision not to reopen graft cases against the president as he 'enjoys' immunity and that no court proceedings can be initiated against the sitting President.

Gilani and his ruling Pakistan People Party (PPP) have so far refused to request the Swiss authorities to reopen the corruption case against President Zardari, as the Supreme Court has been demanding for two years.

All corruption cases against the president and many politicians and government officers had been dropped after the PPP struck a deal with former President Pervez Musharraf.

The apex court has declared that the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), the graft amnesty issued by former President Pervez Musharraf in 2007, was unconstitutional and illegal.

The Supreme Court has been mounting pressure on the PPP-led government to reopen the cases against the president in Switzerland since it canceled a graft amnesty that benefited President Zardari and nearly 8,000 others in December 2009.

**2050
Islamic Republic News Agency/IRNA NewsCode: 30795494