Pak PM to open graft cases against President Zardari

In something of a volte face, Pakistan Prime Minister Pervez Ashraf has told the Supreme Court that the government will open the graft cases against President Asif Ali Zadari.

Ashraf told the apex court today that he has instructed the appropriate authorities to revoke the former attorney general's letter seeking closure of graft cases against the President in Switzerland.

The Supreme Court asked the government to revoke the letter in two to three days. It adjourned the case till 25 September and exempted the prime minister from appearing personally.

At the last hearing on August 27, a five-judge bench accepted Ashraf's plea for more time to address the issue of reopening the cases against Zardari and gave him three weeks (See: Pak SC gives Ashraf more time after climb-down).

Ashraf is the second Pakistani premier to appear in the apex court to face a contempt charge for refusing to revive the cases against Zardari in Switzerland. His predecessor, Yousuf Raza Gilani, was convicted of contempt and disqualified in June after he insisted that the President had immunity against graft charges (See: Pakistan Supreme Court disqualifies Prime Minister Gilani).

The Supreme Court has been pressuring the government to revive the cases against the president since December 2009, when it struck down a graft amnesty issued by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf that benefited Zardari and over 8,000 others.