Gilani vows to respect Supreme Court verdict

Islamabad: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday said he will respect the outcome of a Supreme Court move to cite him in contempt, which is punishable with six months imprisonment or disqualification from office.

"I will go there and I will present my stance before the court," Gilani told reporters in Lahore, a day after a seven-judge bench summoned him to appear on February 13 for framing contempt charges over the government's failure to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

Gilani said the matter was sub judice and he should not comment on the issue, but added that he would "respect the court order."

No confrontation

The prime minister stressed that there should be no confrontation between state institutions and they should work within their constitutional parameters. "I have attended the court when summoned in the past and I will attend again now," said Gilani, who earlier appeared before the top court on January 19 in compliance with its summons.

The executive-judiciary relations have been under strain since the Supreme Court in December 2009 quashed a National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) promulgated by former military ruler Pervez Mushrraf in 2007 which would have given amnesty to politicians facing corruption cases. The verdict ordered the reopening of all cases shelved under the NRO and also directed the government to approach Swiss authorities and seek the revival of money laundering cases against Zardari which were closed on Islamabad's request in early 2008. Islamabad has all along taken the stand that the president enjoys complete immunity from prosecution under the country's constitution and international law.

Addressing a public gathering yesterday in Lahore's suburbs, Gilani said conspiracies were being hatched to stall March elections to the Senate. He vowed that the conspiracies would be foiled and Senate elections would be held on time.

Referring to the demand for early general elections, Gilani said that talks with political parties on holding polls before the expiry in March 2013 of the five-year term of the present National Assembly could take place after the national budget for the new fiscal year starting July is passed by the parliament.