Pakistan PM under fire after contempt conviction

Pakistan's prime minister was Thursday convicted for refusing to reopen a corruption investigation against the president, in a case that could see him thrown out of office.

The Supreme Court found Yousuf Raza Gilani guilty of contempt over his refusal to obey an order to write to the authorities in Switzerland to ask them to restart corruption cases against his ally President Asif Ali Zardari.

Gilani was given only a nominal sentence -- "imprisonment" for a few minutes until the court adjourned -- but the conviction opens the way for proceedings to unseat him as an MP and thus remove him as premier.

This process could drag on for months and in any event Gilani's removal would not necessarily bring down the government, as his Pakistan People's Party (PPP) would be able to choose another lawmaker to replace him.

His lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan said the conviction did not automatically disqualify Gilani from office and confirmed he would launch an appeal, a move likely to lengthen matters still further.

But Thursday's ruling is likely to create fresh political uncertainty in a country already struggling with Islamist and separatist militants, economic woes and a long-running energy crisis.

Attorney General Irfan Qadir said that for now Gilani remains prime minister, but this may change if the case goes before the speaker -- who is a member of Gilani's PPP.

"If she thinks that the judgment is valid, she will forward it to the Election Commission, and she will act otherwise if she thinks that the judgment is invalid," Qadir said.

This process could last up to four months and with an election likely to be called in that time, could be overtaken by events.

Nawaz Sharif, the leader of the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) party, who has twice served as prime minister, said Gilani should quit at once and call an election.

"The government must not push the country into further confusion or crisis. He should voluntarily step down and must not indulge into any confrontation," Sharif said on Geo television.

"If he continues as prime minister it will be another contempt of court."

In giving the verdict, Justice Nasir ul Mulk, the head of the seven-judge Supreme Court bench, said Gilani's offence "tends to bring this court and the judiciary of the country into ridicule".

The summary judgment did not specifically say whether Gilani should be disqualified, but Mulk said the conviction was "likely to entail serious consequences" for him under the section of the constitution covering the removal of MPs, and this was a mitigating factor in sentencing.

"He is therefore punished under section five of contempt of court ordinance with imprisonment till rising of the court," the judge said.

The case has been highly politically charged, with members of the government accusing judges of over-stepping their reach and of trying to bring down the prime minister and president, a year before the administration would become the first in Pakistan to complete an elected term.

Hundreds of PPP supporters took to the streets to protest against the court ruling, with at least 500 demonstrating in Karachi, the capital of Sindh province and a party stronghold.

The corruption allegations against Zardari date back to the 1990s, when he and his late wife, former premier Benazir Bhutto, are suspected of using Swiss bank accounts to launder about ê12 million allegedly paid in bribes by companies seeking customs inspection contracts.

The Swiss shelved the cases in 2008 when Zardari became president and a prosecutor in Switzerland has said it will be impossible to re-open them as long as he remains head of state and so is immune from prosecution.

Gilani insists the president has full immunity, but in December 2009 the Supreme Court overturned a political amnesty that had frozen investigations into the president and other politicians.

There had been speculation that conviction and jail for Gilani would give the PPP a poll boost by allowing them to portray themselves as victims.

Political analyst Imtiaz Gul said the judgment showed the court was aware of this.

"The ruling party thought the judgment would accord them the status of martyrs. The Supreme Court was cognisant of that, that's why they didn't send him to jail," he told AFP.

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