Click to play videoIslamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has been indicted by the Supreme Court for contempt of court for refusing to open the corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. Gilani is the first Prime Minister to have been indicted by the SC.
Gilani denied the charges against him and challenged his indictment. The chargesheet indicted him for contempt of court. Seven judges of the Pakistan SC have signed the chargesheet.
Gilani's lawyer told the court that the PM will not appear before it till February 17. Gilani has asked for time to reply on the chargesheet till February as he said that he is busy till February 17.
The next hearing in the contempt case against Gilani is on February 22 and the Defence lawyer has been asked to present evidence in court on February 27. Gilani has been exempted from personal appearance in court in the next hearing.
Gilani has been indicted over not implementing paragraph 178 of NRO verdict spreading over two pages.
Pakistan Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtaar has indicated that an early judjement in the case is unlikely. Talking to CNN-IBN, he also said, "The President can pardon him and a new PM can also be appointed. Our government is following the law and we will explore all options available within the legal framework."
Reacting to the court order, former information minister of Pakistan Tariq Azeem said, "After this court verdict, it becomes a moral duty of the PM to offer his resignation."
Earlier, Gilani said that he will resign if the Supreme Court convicts him in a contempt of court case for not acting against President Asif Ali Zardari, Geo News reported.
Speaking to an Arab news channel, Gilani also said the cases against Zardari are politically motivated and the President enjoys immunity in the country and abroad.
Dealing a major blow to Gilani, 59, Pakistan's apex court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on Friday had rejected his appeal against framing of contempt charges over his failure to act on its repeated orders to revive cases of alleged money laundering against Asif Ali Zardari in Switzerland.
Gilani personally appeared in the court when it took up the contempt case on January 19 and said the government could not reopen the cases against the President because he enjoys complete immunity in Pakistan and abroad.
(With additional information from PTI and IANS)
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