Pakistan Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Monday became the first Pakistani head of government to be indicted when the Supreme Court charged the embattled PM with contempt of court for refusing to reopen corruption cases against his boss, President Asif Ali Zardari.

The head of the seven-member bench, Justice Nasirul Mulk, read out the two-page chargesheet which said that the PM had violated Article 204 of the Constitution by not writing a letter to the Swiss authorities to reopen corruption cases against Mr Zardari, as instructed by the court. An additional charge, of the PM violating paragraph 178 of the court’s verdict on the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case was also mentioned.
Mr Gilani pleaded not guilty and sought more time in the case. But the court ordered Attorney-General Maulvi Anwarul Haq to continue presenting more documents and proof to the court. The PM was excused from further hearings while the hearing was adjourned till February 22.
The court also ordered the A-G to prosecute the case, giving him until Thursday and the defence until February 27 to file documents which will then be recorded on February 28.