Court hears evidence against Gilani in contempt case

Pakistan’s Attorney-General on Wednesday presented the prosecution’s case against Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who is charged with contempt for allegedly violating court orders on graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

After hearing Attorney-General Maulvi Anwarul Haq’s arguments, the Supreme Court adjourned until Tuesday when the defence is to argue its case. The substance of the evidence submitted by the Attorney-General was not released.

Mr. Gilani has been charged with flouting a court order to write to Swiss authorities to ask them to start investigations into money laundering cases involving 60 million dollars against Mr. Zardari.

The charges date back to the 1990s when Mr. Zardari’s wife, Benazir Bhutto, served two terms as Prime Minister. They were withdrawn by Swiss authorities at the request of the Pakistani government under a national reconciliation ordinance in 2007.

The order involved a deal between Mr. Zardari’s party and former military strongman Pervez Musharraf, under which he and several other people were granted immunity from corruption and other criminal charges.

Mr. Gilani said he could not ask the Swiss authorities to reopen the cases because Mr. Zardari enjoys immunity under Pakistani law.