Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered Prime Minister Gilani to appear in court on Monday where he was then subsequently indicted for contempt. If he is found guilty and convicted, the prime minister could be jailed and impeached from office.

The move was the formal start to proceedings that could now take weeks or months to conclude. The next session is slated for February 22.

The court held Gilani in contempt for the premier's refusal to write a letter to the Swiss authorities to re-open graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. Zardari and his late wife Benazir Bhutto, who was also Pakistan’s former prime minister, had allegedly received bribes from Swiss companies seeking customs inspection contracts in Pakistan in the 1990s.

Presidential immunity

Although the court continues to demand that Gilani write a letter to the Swiss government, the Pakistan People's Party-led government claims that President Zardari enjoys presidential immunity under the constitution and that the cases against him cannot be re-opened.

The Swiss government shelved the cases in 2008 when Asif Ali Zardari became president. The Swiss prosecutor's office said at the time that it would not be possible to re-open the cases as long as Zardari remained head-of-state.

Deutsche Welle correspondent in Islamabad Shakoor Rahim said legal experts in Pakistan believed the PM must apologize in court and send the letter to Swiss authorities in order to save himself from being put on trial.

Political martyrdom

The latest court decision is likely to plunge the conflict-ridden Islamic Republic into deeper turmoil. President Zardari also faces a treason case in the Supreme Court for allegedly sending a memorandum to US officials to protect his government from a possible military coup after al-Qaeda's former head Osama bin Laden's assassination in Pakistan on May 2, 2011.

The Pakistani government says the cases against Prime Minister Gilani and President Zardari are politically-motivated - an attempt to dislodge the civilian government. Some political experts in Pakistan are of the opinion that the ongoing political turmoil is a clash of institutions in Pakistan, as the country's powerful army is not in favor of a strong civilian government.

Karachi-based Political analyst Owais Tohid told Deutsche Welle that the court's decision was "a setback for Pakistan's liberal forces."

"It is going to have political repercussions. Prime Minister Gilani is going to be indicted on Monday, February 13. But I do not think it is going to be a big loss for the PPP (Pakistan People’s Party) government. They will emerge as “victims of democracy," said Tohid.

PPP's critics say the government is deliberately disobeying court orders as they want to present themselves as victims to the Pakistani people in the forthcoming parliamentary elections later this year.

"The government is deliberately disobeying the orders of the Supreme Court," Iqbal Haider, former law minister of Pakistan, told Deutsche Welle. "The clash of institutions is a deliberate effort by the government to derail the system and to come out as political martyrs. The current rulers are the ones who are confronting the judiciary as well as the army, and it is a conscious policy. It is very immature and imprudent on the part of the rulers," said Haider.

The West worries

The United States and other Western countries have expressed concern at the recent tug of war in Pakistan, which they believe could further destabilize the country marred by Islamist extremism and terrorism.

Tohid is of the opinion that the current political instability in Pakistan will definitely be a matter of concern for the international community. "Since bin Laden’s killing in Abbottabad by US forces, the US has had tense relations with the Pakistani military leadership. Now the civilian government is in crisis, and this crisis is likely to get worse. The US needs Pakistan's support for a safe exit of its troops from Afghanistan, so, of course, it does not want to see Pakistan in turmoil," said Tohid.

Author: Shamil Shams /gb
Editor: Sarah Berning