Pakistan's Supreme Court on Monday charged Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani with contempt of court. Gilani was charged because of his refusal to write to authorities in Switzerland asking them to reopen a corruption case against the leader of his political party, President Asif Ali Zardari.

If convicted, Gilani could be forced to step down and face up to six months in jail. He pleaded not guilty at the Supreme Court in the capital Islamabad's heavily secured "Red Zone."

The confrontation between the Supreme Court and Pakistan's political leaders stems from a host of old corruption cases that were thrown out after an amnesty law was passed by former president and military leader Pervez Musharraf. The law declared the president and other top ranking officials immune to prosecution during their time in office, but it was subsequently thrown out by the Supreme Court in December 2009.

Off the shelf?

The court later ordered the reopening of hundred of cases that had been dropped, most notably Swiss graft accusations against President Zardari. Prime Minister Gilani still says that Zardari should be immune from prosecution, saying the courts' attempt to reopen proceedings against him is politically motivated.

Gilani had appealed against the court's decision to charge him with contempt, but that attempt was dismissed on Friday.

The old Swiss cases date back to the 1990's. Zardari and his wife Benazir Bhutto, who was Pakistan's prime minister at the time, are accused of using Swiss banks to launder roughly $12 million in alleged bribes paid by companies seeking customs inspection contracts in Pakistan.

Swiss prosecutors had shelved the cases in 2008, when Zardari became head of state, saying that it would be impossible to indict him while he held the position.

With general elections scheduled for 2013, Zardari and Gilani's administration is one year away from becoming the first elected government in Pakistan's history to serve a full term.

msh/mz (AFP, AP, Reuters)