Pak SC ends contempt move against PM Ashraf

Pakistan's Supreme Court today 'discharged' or withdrew a contempt notice issued to Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf on the ground that he had failed to approach Swiss authorities to revive graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, as the court had directed on 10 October.

A five-judge bench headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali retracted the contempt notice and withdrew proceedings against the government after law minister Farooq H Naek presented a receipt that showed the Swiss authorities had received the government's letter for the revival of the graft cases on 9 November.

Naek cited two documents containing English and French versions of the letter. On the bench's query, he also produced receipt of the letter received by the Swiss attorney general's office in Geneva on 13 November.

Justice Jamali acknowledged that the government had complied with the court's directives of writing to Swiss authorities for reopening the graft cases. Talking to journalists after the hearing, Naek said the court's decision was a victory for justice and democracy.

The government, he said, had implemented every directive of the apex court. The government's letter to the Swiss authorities makes it clear that the graft cases can be revived on the condition that the President enjoys immunity from prosecution under the Constitution and Pakistani and international laws.

The Supreme Court and the government recently came to an agreement on the contents of the letter to be sent to the Swiss authorities after months of sparring.

Zardari and his slain wife, former premier Benazir Bhutto, were accused of laundering millions of dollars through Swiss banks. The ruling Pakistan People's Party has said that the charges against them were never proved.

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. Ashraf's predecessor, Yousuf Raza Gilani, was convicted of contempt and disqualified in June for refusing to reopen the cases against Zardari.