Islamabad, Pakistan (CNN) — The Pakistani Supreme Court on Monday indicted Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani as for contempt afterwards his steadfast refusal to revive old corruption cases furthermorest the country’s president.
The court’s mobile deepens the political turmoil in Pakistan amid 10sions between the civilian as well as military authorities as well as fraught relations goes along with the United States. It means Gilani, the first Pakistani prime minister to be charged although in office, is about to face a trial that may endanger his political future.
Gilani has “willfully flouted, disregarded as well as disobeyed the direction providen by this court,” stated Justice Nasir ul-Mulk as he read out the charge, to that Gilani pleaded not guilty.
The court has demanded that Gilani ask the Swiss authorities to reopen corruption charges from the 1990s furthermorest President Asif Ali Zardari as well as some other people.
Gilani, whose government has resisted the request, has been locked in a standoff goes along with the Supreme Court justices as for about 2 years over the issue. He may be jailed as for 6 months if the justices ascertain him in contempt.
Observers say the prospects as for Gilani are appear to being increasingly bleak.
“I conceive this is the end as for the prime minister as he has determined to confront the court,” stated Rasool Bux Rais, a political analyst based in Lahore.
Gilani as well as his lawyers have argued that the prime minister has not followed the court’s order because Zardari enjoys immunity in Pakistan as well as abroad as a president in office.
The court has asked the prosecution as well as the defense to file their evidence before the end of the month, stated Gohar Ali, a member of the prime minister’s legal team.
The justices have appointed the attorney common, Maulvi Anwar ul-Haq, to head the prosecution. Tensions goes along with the government over this case have contributed to the departures of previous attorneys common.
Gilani stated in an interview over the weekend goes along with the satellite news network Al Jazeera that he had an “extremely capable” lawyer as well as did not’t believe the court would jail him on the contempt charges.
Even if he is convicted, there is still one method as for him to potentially avoid prison as well as political ruin.
“He still has the presidential pardon as a last shield,” stated Imtiaz Gul, an author as well as Islamabad-based political analyst, noting that Zardari is the entireowed below the Constitution to grant pardons.
Gul stated that although the court’s pursuit of this case has been controversial, it is motivated by nice reasons.
“The Supreme Court is pressing proir goes along with it is agenda, that is creating as much method respect as for the rule of law as possible,” he stated. “And it is driving home the message that the entire are equal below the law.”
Gilani served more than five years in prison between 2001 as well as 2006 on corruption charges brought by the previous military regime of Gen. Pervez Musharraf — counts he stated were asides politically motivated.
The corruption cases that the Supreme Court currently would like tos reopened stem from money-laundering charges furthermorest Zardari as well as his late wife, as ex Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. A Swiss court convicted them in absentia in 2003 of laundering millions of dollars.
After Musharraf granted a controversial amnesty in 2007 to Zardari, Bhutto, as well as thousands of some other politicians as well as bureaucrats, Pakistan asked the Swiss authorities to drop the case. In 2009, the Pakistani Supreme Court ruled the amnesty was unconstitutional as well as called on the government to need steps to have the cases reopened.
The government has not accomplished so, as well as the court apparently lost patience. Since Gilani is the head of the government, the court justices view him as responsible.
The heads of Gilani’s political party’s primary coalition partners joined him in court on Monday in a present of solidarity.
CNN’s Reza Sayah as well as Jethro Mullen contributed to this report