Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has conceded he would automatically lose his job if he is convicted of contempt, as he prepared to face the Supreme Court on Monday.
The top court threw out a last-ditch appeal by Gilani on Friday and is now set to indict him for contempt over his refusal to reopen graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.
If convicted, Gilani faces six months in jail and disqualification from office in a case that has rocked his government and is expected to force elections within months in the country plagued by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Asked during an interview with Al Jazeera television at the weekend whether he would quit if found guilty, he conceded a conviction would lead to him losing his job — but said he could leave office without actually resigning.
“Certainly then there is no need to step down if I am convicted, I am not supposed to be even the member of the parliament,” Gilani said.
The Supreme Court has ordered Gilani appear for the framing of contempt charges over the government’s two-year refusal to ask Swiss authorities to re-open graft cases against Zardari.
Gilani insisted that Zardari as president had immunity from prosecution both in Pakistan and abroad, adding that cases against his boss were “politically motivated.”
“Whatever the charges that were levelled against him, he fought those cases in the court, he was exonerated. There had been lot of cases against him and they were all politically motivated,” Gilani said.
Zardari and his late wife, prime minister Benazir Bhutto, were suspected of using Swiss bank accounts to launder about $12 million in alleged bribes paid by companies seeking customs inspection contracts in Pakistan in the 1990s.
The Swiss shelved the cases in 2008, when Zardari became head of state, and a prosecutor in Switzerland has said it will be impossible to re-open them as long as he remains head of state and is immune from prosecution.
It is a difficult situation in Pakistan. Let us wait for the events to unfold before jumping on conclusions.
PM thinks by resigning he will cover up the rampant corruption unleashed by his family and cronies. If this happens, it will be a boost and encouragment for others to continue with ruthless plunder of this state, which is on verge of financial collapse, with the rupee likely to peak Rs 100 to US$. It is time for accountability across the board of not just politicians but equally, if not more corrupt civil bureacrats and khaki elite. Just look at massive assets of senior police and FBR officers, which should tell you how crime nourishes and weapons business thrives in this country.
It would be the least a good riddance. Nobody would be sorry for an utterly corrupt thick skinned goon imposed upon us through the flawed system of our existing election system.
excellent remarks . he has piled up enough for his ,, GADDI ,, and will return to his makhdoomi . we hate this word and creed , He is a bad specimen of makhdooms . but he is sahmeless . only concerned for ,mmoney.not only he but whole tribe has looted us.
he should become a show boy and do cat walks with his imported suits,
If we had judges and journalists with some guts, they could make a strong case against him for treason. Does he abide by the law and protect the constituition of which he took an oath to defend? I think not. Unfortunately nobody in Pakistan has the guts to raise these kind of questions, In my view they are all in it together.
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