Pakistan court throws out PM contempt summons appeal

[1]

Pakistan's top court on Friday threw out an appeal from embattled Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani against contempt charges, paving the way for him to be indicted next week.

The Supreme Court upheld a summons for Gilani to appear on February 13 to face indictment for the government's two-year refusal to ask Swiss authorities to re-open graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari.

If convicted of contempt of court, Gilani faces up to six months in jail and being disqualified from office.

"The appeal is dismissed," chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry told the court, upholding the February 2 summons for Gilani to appear on Monday.

The judge wanted a clear answer on whether the prime minister would write to the Swiss, telling his lawyer: "We are ready to give you 10 minutes to talk to the prime minister on the phone and let us know."

"I have no mandate to do that," replied Gilani's lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan.