Gilani in no mood to tone down battle with judiciary

Beleaguered Pakistan government appears to be in no mood to tone down in the battle of attrition when Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani appears before the Supreme Court tomorrow in compliance with its direction.

Gilani, who is already involved in a tussle with the powerful Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, is unlikely to offer apology to the court which has issued a contempt notice for failing to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, sources said today.

There is consensus among the top leadership of the ruling Pakistan People's Party on not apologising to the judiciary or writing a letter to Swiss authorities to revive cases of alleged money laundering against Zardari, sources in the party and its legal team told PTI.

"Neither will Prime Minister Gilani apologise nor will he assure the Supreme Court about writing a letter to the Swiss authorities when he appears in court tomorrow in the contempt of court proceedings," said a close aide to the President.

"We believe that the court would be pacified by the appearance of the Prime Minister. I think the Prime Minister's gesture will assuage the feelings of people concerned," said the aide.

However, Gilani's lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, who will present the case in the court tomorrow, maintained that though the Prime Minister was not guilty of contempt of court, he should bow to pressure and ask Switzerland to reopen graft cases.

Ahsan said the President Zardari enjoys full immunity from criminal cases in Pakistan and abroad and the constitutional immunity had been notified. So the Prime Minister cannot be held guilty of contempt.