Pakistan PM Gilani stands firm in contempt battle

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has appeared before the country's Supreme Court in contempt proceedings, to defend his record.

The court initiated the hearing over Mr Gilani's refusal to ask Swiss officials to reopen a corruption case against President Asif Ali Zardari.

If found guilty of contempt he could be banned from holding public office.

A stand-off between the government, the judiciary and the military threatens to topple Mr Gilani's government.

After a hearing lasting little more than an hour the case was adjourned until 1 February.

Mr Gilani smiled and waved as he arrived at the Supreme Court, accompanied by his legal team and senior cabinet ministers.

In a lengthy opening statement to the seven judges, he spoke of his respect for the court and the Pakistani constitution.

He said he had not intended to defy the court but that he believed Mr Zardari had presidential immunity from prosecution.

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool looks at the mounting tensions in Pakistan

"I have discussed this with my friends and experts, and they all agree that he has got complete immunity," Mr Gilani said.

"It will not give a good message to proceed against a president who is elected by a two-thirds majority."

He said it would not be good idea to throw the president to the "wolves".

Regardless of the outcome, one of the judges said, ''it was a great day for Pakistan, that the chief executive had bowed before the majesty of the law.".

Mr Gilani's embattled government is currently embroiled in disputes with the judiciary and also with Pakistan's powerful armed forces.

The prime minister sounded conciliatory at the hearing but his appearance was intended to be a show of strength for the government, says the BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad.

'No harm'

Mr Gilani has long refused to request the Swiss authorities to reopen the corruption case against President Zardari, as the Supreme Court has demanded.

But his lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, indicated on Wednesday that the prime minister might reverse that stance.

"There is no harm in writing a letter to the Swiss authorities," he said.

"The president has complete immunity against criminal procedures in the courts."

He added: "I don't think the prime minister has committed contempt of court by not writing the letter. Through my arguments I will try to convince the court that the prime minister is not guilty of contempt."

If convicted, Mr Gilani would face a prison term and be disqualified from office, potentially forcing early elections.


Meanwhile, former President Pervez Musharraf has indicated he intends to stick to a promise to return in late January from self-imposed exile to run in elections, which are due by 2013.

He told the BBC he wanted to seek "the mandate of the people", despite facing arrest on his return to face accusations that he did not provide adequate security for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto when she was assassinated in late 2007.

On Wednesday, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Gen Musharraf would be arrested if he returned to the country.

Money laundering

Mr Zardari and his late wife, Benazir Bhutto, were found guilty in absentia by a Swiss court in 2003 of laundering millions of dollars in kickbacks from Swiss firms while they were in government.

They appealed and Swiss officials dropped the case in 2008 at the request of the Pakistani government.

The case was one of thousands dropped as a result of an amnesty that allowed Ms Bhutto to return from self-imposed exile and run for election in 2008. She was assassinated shortly after returning.

However, in 2009 Pakistan's Supreme Court declared the amnesty unconstitutional, leaving those covered by it open to prosecution.

The government is also engaged in a dispute with the military over an anonymous memo asking for US help to avert a possible army coup in Pakistan. The memo was sent in the wake of the killing of Osama Bin Laden in a US raid in May 2011.

US officials have acknowledged receiving the memo but say they took no action over it.

Both disputes have overshadowed Pakistan's deteriorating relationship with Washington following US air strikes that accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.

Pakistan PM Gilani faces Supreme Court contempt order

Pakistan's Supreme Court has issued a contempt order against Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, raising the prospect of his prosecution.

The court has been considering what to do about the government's refusal to reopen corruption cases against the president and other political figures.

Mr Gilani has been ordered to appear in person at the court on 19 January.

It comes on a day of several crucial challenges for the government amid ongoing tensions with the army.

A key vote of confidence in Pakistan's political leadership is scheduled to be held later in parliament.

And another court hearing into a controversial anonymous memo which asked for US help to avert an army coup in Pakistan, in the wake of the killing of Osama Bin Laden in May 2011, has also resumed.

Correspondents say that Mr Gilani can continue as prime minister while court proceedings take place. If contempt proceedings go ahead and he is found guilty, he could be automatically disqualified from holding public office.

Intense uncertainty

At the heart of the court's complaint is the government's refusal to act on a court order quashing a controversial amnesty, which had protected the country's senior politicians from corruption prosecutions.

One of the cases at stake is against Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari - the government insists he has immunity from prosecution as president.

But the deadline for the government to reopen the corruption cases expired on Monday and government representatives were summoned to court to explain what they planned to do.

"The Supreme Court has issued a contempt of court notice to the prime minister for not complying with its orders," AFP news agency reported judge Nasir-ul-Mulk as telling the court.

The order comes at a time of intense political uncertainty, with the government at loggerheads with country's powerful military as well as the judiciary.

The government's stand-off with the military escalated sharply last week when the army publicly rebuked Mr Gilani warning of "potentially grievous consequences" after he criticised army leaders in a media interview and sacked his defence secretary.

Pakistan has suffered three military coups since independence in 1947 but analysts believe the army has little appetite for a coup in this instance.

Correspondents say things appeared to have calmed down after talks between civilian and military elites over the weekend when Mr Gilani described the armed forces as "a pillar of the nation's resilience and strength".

The BBC's M Ilyas Khan says the army is throwing its weight behind the judiciary as it pursues its cases against the government.

'Memogate' inquiry

The other court hearing being considered today concerns the so-called "memogate" scandal - the anonymous memo apparently seeking help from the US to avert a possible military coup.

It is not clear who wrote the memo or conveyed it to Washington. US officials say they received the memo but took no action.

The scandal has already cost Pakistan's former ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani, his job. He denies any role in the memo, as does Pakistan's President Zardari.

The commission, set up last month, is expected to question government officials to try to establish whether they endorsed the memo, and if so, whether the cabinet can remain in power.

The findings of the investigation are due to be announced later this month.

At the close of a testing day for the government, Mr Gilani's government will face a vote in parliament on the country's political leadership and in the democratic system.

Correspondents say the prime minister is likely to win backing, and that the lawmakers' seal of approval may strengthen his hand.

China warns US on Asia military strategy

China's state media have warned the US against "flexing its muscles" after Washington unveiled a defence review switching focus to the Asia-Pacific.

In an editorial, official news agency Xinhua said President Barack Obama's move to increase US presence in the region could come as a welcome boost to stability and prosperity.

But it said any US militarism could create ill will and "endanger peace".

Mr Obama also plans $450bn (£290bn) in cuts to create a "leaner" military.

Thousands of troops are expected to be axed over the next decade under the far-reaching defence review.

The defence budget could also lose another $500bn at the end of this year after Congress failed to agree on deficit reduction following a debt-ceiling deal in August 2011.

Mr Obama said the "tide of war was receding" in Afghanistan and that the US must renew its economic power.Regional disputes

However, he told reporters at the Pentagon: "We'll be strengthening our presence in the Asia-Pacific, and budget reductions will not come at the expense of this critical region."

Xinhua said the US role could be good for China in helping to secure the "peaceful environment" it needed to continue its economic development.

But it added: "While boosting its military presence in the Asia-Pacific, the United States should abstain from flexing its muscles, as this won't help solve regional disputes.

"If the United States indiscreetly applies militarism in the region, it will be like a bull in a china shop, and endanger peace instead of enhancing regional stability."

BBC Asia analyst Charles Scanlon said the US decision to focus on Asia would have come as no surprise to China's leaders. However, to some in Beijing, it would look like a containment strategy designed to curtail China's growing power.

Beijing officials have yet to comment.

However, the Communist Party's Global Times newspaper said Washington could not stop the rise of China and called on Beijing to develop more long-range strike weapons to deter the US navy.

'Flexible and ready'

The US strategy shifts the Pentagon away from its long-standing doctrine of being able to wage two wars simultaneously.

However, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta emphasised the military would retain its ability to confront more than one threat at a time, and would be more flexible and adaptable than in the past.

Mr Obama said: "The world must know - the United States is going to maintain our military superiority with armed forces that are agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats."

No specific cuts to troop numbers or weapons programmes were announced on Thursday - those are to be presented as part of the federal budget next month.

But a 10-15% reduction to the US Army and the Marine Corps is being considered over the next decade - amounting to tens of thousands of troops, Obama administration officials have told US media.

Initial Republican reaction to the review was negative. Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, California Representative Howard McKeon, said the new policy was a "retreat from the world in the guise of a new strategy".

"This is a lead-from-behind strategy for a left-behind America," he said in a statement.

Pakistan court orders 'memogate' inquiry

Pakistan's Supreme Court has set up an inquiry into a controversial unsigned memo that asked for US help in curbing the powers of the military.

The court said a panel of four high court judges would conclude its findings within a month.

The "memogate" scandal concerns a note allegedly sent from Pakistan's political leadership to US Adm Mike Mullen, via a former ambassador.

President Asif Ali Zardari's aides deny any links with the document.

Pakistan's civilian leaders were allegedly worried that the army was about to launch a coup after US forces killed Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad in May.

They say any court inquiry into the affair would be unnecessary and politically motivated. The government argues that a parliamentary committee is already looking into memogate.

Correspondents say Friday's ruling will put additional pressure on the government and could even lead to President Zardari's fall from power if a link is established.

"I think that this is one of the darkest days in history for the judiciary," said a lawyer for Pakistan's former ambassador to the US, Husain Haqqani - who denies any role in the affair.

"I said in the Supreme Court too that this is a very disappointing judgement. This is a judgement that places national security above fundamental rights," lawyer Asma Jahangir said.

Earlier this week President Zardari accused Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry of failing to investigate the murder of his wife, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

He was addressing party supporters on the anniversary of Ms Bhutto's killing.

He pointed to a hearing the Supreme Court opened over the leaked memo as proof the court has been inconsistent.

Pakistan: PM Gilani denies he is to sack army chief

Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani has dismissed reports he is planning to sack army and intelligence chiefs.

This follows latest rumours in the Pakistan media about a rift between politicians and the military.

Earlier, the army chief denied reports of plans to oust the civilian government - after the PM spoke of a conspiracy, referring to the army.

Tensions are high in the wake of a leaked memo that allegedly asked for US help to prevent a military coup.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari - who recently spent nearly two weeks in Dubai for medical treatment - denies any role in the memo.

Fools' Talk

"As far as the rumours that the government wants to remove the DG-ISI [Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha] and [army chief] General Kayani, this impression is simply a fools' talk,"Mr Gilani told a news conference.

"This utterly wrong impression is being created by some opportunists."

Mr Gilani said Gen Kayani was "pro-democracy" and that he was happy with his work. He also said that, unsolicited, he had extended the tenure of the two officers last year.

In a statement last Friday, Gen Kayani "strongly dispelled the speculation of any military takeover".

The rumours were "misleading and being used as a bogey to divert the focus from the real issues".

The general, who was addressing troops near the Afghan border, "reiterated that (the) Pakistan Army has and will continue to support the democratic process in the country", the statement went on.

Tensions are high between the civilian government, which has ruled since elections in February 2008, and the military and intelligence services, after US forces killed Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad in May. The army was not told about the raid in advance.

In his comments last week, Mr Gilani voiced unprecedented criticism of the military, saying: "There can't be a state within the state. They have to be answerable to this parliament."

However he did not name any of the alleged conspirators.

The latest developments come amid a scandal dubbed "memogate" that has forced the resignation of the Pakistani ambassador to the US and piled pressure on President Zardari and the civilian authorities.

Some observers have speculated that the "memogate" affair is a conspiracy by the army to embarrass the government.

The military is the strongest institution in Pakistan and has staged three coups.