Pakistan supreme court to decide on PM Gilani today

NEW DELHI: A day before the Pakistan supreme court takes up a contempt of court case against him, prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said he will step down if he was convicted for defying the court by not taking action against president Asif Ali Zardari.

The developments in Islamabad were being watched closely by New Delhi, as the verdict would have a close bearing on relations between the two neighbours. Religious affairs minister Khursheed Shah or defence minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar could replace Gilani if he is disqualified.

According to news agency reports from Islamabad, Gilani said that the cases against Zardari were politically motivated and the president enjoyed immunity in the country and abroad.

The prime minister has refused to write to Swiss authorities to recover money allegedly stashed away by the president, as directed by the Supreme Court.

Gilani had taken the plea that Zardari enjoyed immunity under the Pakistan constitution. Zardari, who was charged with corruption, had been granted amnesty under the National Reconciliation Ordinance in 2007 by then president Pervez Musharraf to facilitate his and wife Benazir Bhutto's return to Islamabad from self-exile.

The NRO that granted immunity to politicians and bureaucrats in corruption cases was struck down as void in 2009.

The apex court had warned the government of action if its ruling on NRO was not implemented by January 10, 2012. It further ordered the government to write a letter to Swiss authorities to reopen the graft cases.