Pakistan top court challenges PM on corruption cases

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Monday ordered Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to appear before the court for failing to pursue corruption cases against the president and other officials, a sharp escalation in the government's battle for survival.

The court threatened the premier with contempt, the latest blow for the civilian administration which also faces pressure from the military over a mysterious memo seeking US help to avert an alleged coup last year.

While Gilani is the one facing a contempt hearing, most observers say the court's real target is President Asif Ali Zardari. During the 1990s, Zardari had multiple cases of corruption and even murder lodged against him, all of which he says are false and politically motivated.

An amnesty deal that protected him from prosecution was nullified in 2009 and the court has been pushing for the government to re-open and investigate the corruption cases against Zardari. The government refuses to do so saying Zardari enjoys immunity as the head of state. "We are left with no option, as a first step, to issue a show cause notice," s seven-member bench of the Supreme Court said in its notice on Monday.

"The prime minister should appear personally in court on January 19." While Gilani is not considered in immediate danger and the case is expected to be drawn out, he may have to step down if he is held in contempt of court. Concern over Pakistan's protracted political crisis has grown around the world, given the country of 180 million people faces a rampaging Taliban insurgency and has one of the fastest growing nuclear arsenals. "We respect the court and its verdict," said Farhatullah Babar, the presidential spokesman.

"An appropriate response will be formulated in light of consultation with our legal brains." Gilani would likely appear before the court on Thursday and then the attorney general would request that he not appear regularly, which the court would likely agree to, former law minister Khalid Anwar said. Any contempt charges would be strongly fought by the government, dragging proceedings out, he said.

"It's a lengthy process," he said. But, he added, "if he is convicted, he would be disqualified from being a member of the parliament," meaning he would no longer be eligible to be a prime minister. TUSSLE The tussle with the judiciary is just one battle the government faces.

It is separately embroiled in a dispute with the military over an unsigned memo sent in the wake of the US commando raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani town last year. The memo, allegedly drafted on the direction of former ambassador to Washington Husain Haqqani, asked for U.S. help in reining in the army, which the memo said was planning a coup. When an American businessman revealed his role in writing and delivering the memo, the army went incensed.

Haqqani was forced to resign, and "memogate" has locked Zardari and the military in trench warfare ever since. "The government has embarked on a confrontational path," said security analyst Imtiaz Gul. "They are confronting the judiciary and if they stick to this path, then obviously this is full of risks for the government, including the disqualification of the prime minister."

Political experts think the government, which is deeply unpopular and facing elections this year or early next year, is hoping to be ousted by the courts or the military in a bid to garner sympathy votes. "It looks like the prime minister has decided that he is the one who is going to embrace 'political martyrdom' and try to save the president and the government," said a lawmaker from a party allied to the Pakistan People's Party . Gilani is not the first sitting prime minister to appear before the court.

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was also issued a contempt of court notice by then-chief justice, Sajjad Ali Shah, and he appeared before the court. Parliament is due to vote on a non-binding resolution expressing support for Gilani's government later in the day, and it's likely the court's decision will embolden opposition against the civilian government.